


A Thousand Shades of Red

by kovenmoonshadow



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Classical Music, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fourth Wall Leaning A La BB, Hearing Voices, Horror, I simp for Avengers, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability, Misunderstandings, Nightmares, Not Really Character Death, Other pairings are mostly irrelevant but will list them anyway, Panic Attacks, Psychological Horror, References to Lovecraft, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Slow Burn, Some gore but not an excessive amount, Sort Of, Suicide Attempt, Summer Servants, Tags Contain Spoilers, The Ritsuka here is a blatant self-insert and I won't apologize for that, Well the Facade has its own voice, When does this take place? Answer: Yes, Will add tags as I continue because there is A Lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:06:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29756589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kovenmoonshadow/pseuds/kovenmoonshadow
Summary: **PLEASE GO OVER THE TAGS BEFORE READING**A broken but brilliant mind is a powerful lure for beings who thrive on that sort of thing.
Relationships: Chevalier d'Eon | Saber/Marie Antoinette | Rider, Edmond Dantès | Avenger/Fujimaru Ritsuka, Florence Nightingale | Berserker/Scheherezade | Caster, Meltryllis｜Alter Ego/Tristan | Archer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Caster/Antonio Salieri | Avenger
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> The working title for this project was "The Continued Misadventures of Antonio Salieri".  
> You ever get one of those really good ideas based solely on something dumb? Because that's what this fic is!  
> Yes, this entire project was based solely on the fact that apparently, pulling in the Lucky Bags will give you Servants you don't have access to. This is why I was on Babylon and had a NP5 Salieri before I even started the first Lostbelt.  
> My interpretation of Salieri's character (and other characters for that matter) may be slightly different but that's what fanfic is for, after all.  
> (This was also totally not an excuse for me to flex my Lovecraft Mythos knowledge but you know...)  
> Please review! I appreciate any and all criticism!

_I felt those whispers were meant to guide me_

_Their voice, pulled little trigger inside me._

_I fell and there’s no one left_

_Pick up my pieces, smashed on the ground_

_I fell, loosing my head_

_But you have left a thousands shades of red._

_(A Thousand Shades of Red_ , Micamic (Downfall))

Everything was red, the world swathed in a crimson veil like the grand curtains that fell upon the stage following the most exquisite performance.

Only there was no audience, no roar of applause and the cheers of admirers.

There was only red...and music.

_His_ music.

Whatever had transpired and what had been subsequently planned was forgotten as he tore through the hallways in pursuit of the source of the sound. Startled Servants scrambled to get out of the way, knowing full well that once an Avenger class was on the warpath, it was simply wiser to mind one’s own business.

Salieri paid them no mind. They were unimportant and besides, he would cut down anyone who attempted to stop him.

The hallways of this place, of Chaldea as 'Master' had called it, were long and winding and, all things considered, Salieri probably should have gotten lost.

No, he was a hunter. A hunter who knew his prey well and would pursue him to the ends of creation if he had too.

_Wolfgang…_

The man who had ruined his life, his career, had driven him to madness and ultimately suicide.

_Amadeus_ …

His fault! It was all his fault! If he had never met him, never heard his accursed music..! Oh, how Salieri hated him, despised him with every fiber of his being! He would never rest, never be content, not until his claws tore into his rival’s flesh, ripped his throat out, mutilated him beyond recognition! His fingers would be smashed, ruined, unable to create that nightmarish, God-blessed music…

“ _MOZART!!”,_ he howled in fury as he practically smashed through a set of doors. The force was enough that it actually broke off its hinges while the other ricocheted off the wall.

The music cut off abruptly, followed by the shriek of furniture legs scraping against the floor then a loud clatter as it was knocked over by the occupant standing up in surprise.

The musician was obviously more startled than fearful, but the same couldn’t be said for the two Servants, an older bearded man and a child with blue hair, for they quickly dove for cover behind a nearby couch.

Amadeus regarded him curiously, tilting his head to one side, then the other, tapping one of his long fingers against the edge of his jaw. Then his expression lit up, green eyes bright and sparkling with revelation.

“My dear friend, I barely recognized you! Were it not for that familiar voice I would be none the wiser!” he exclaimed, “But appearances aside, it is good to see you again, Salieri.”

Salieri himself was stunned for a moment, but it was just as quickly reverted back to seething hatred. How dare he?! How dare he act as if nothing was wrong!? Was his suffering a joke to him?!

“Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart-!” he started, brandishing his Wildfire Blade threateningly.

“Oh, you don’t have to use my full name, you know that,” Amadeus interrupted, waving a hand dismissively. Either he was completely oblivious to Salieri’s murderous intent or he was intentionally ignoring it. Both of these possibilities just fed the rage burning in the Avenger’s core.

“You _dare_ mock me?!” Salieri snarled, lunging across the room, “Is my curse, my suffering, all sleights against me a mere joke to you?!”

Amadeus dodged out of the way, swiftly moving to the other side of the piano. The bench he had been sitting on wasn’t so lucky, as the impact from the Wildfire Blade made the piece of furniture splinter and explode.

“I’m afraid I am unsure of what you’re referring to, my old friend,” Amadeus said, leaning forward and resting his elbows atop the piano so he could prop his chin atop his hands...as if this were a casual conversation and Salieri _wasn’t_ trying to murder him.

“I was sure when we last parted, our rivalry was amicable,” he continued, “We were still friends, no?”

“Shut up!” Salieri snarled, making an attempt to pursue his target, but again, Amadeus just moved to the opposite side of the sizable instrument between them.

_Now_ Amadeus was starting to look concerned, “I’m afraid I do not know what’s put you in such an awful state-.”

“Rumors!”  
  
“Pardon?”  
  
“You heard me!” Again, another almost comedic loop around the piano, “Those spurious, abominable rumors! They _destroyed_ me, Amadeus! My life, my music, my reputation! All consumed in the blaze of falsehoods!”  
  
Another loop, “I have no memory of spreading such gossip! Not in my lifetime, anyway.”

“Oh, this curse began after your untimely demise, my _‘friend’_ ,” Salieri sneered.

“Then obviously I had nothing to do with it!” Amadeus protested, squawking in surprise as Salieri swung his blade and only narrowly missed him.

“I don’t give a damn, Amadeus,” Salieri said hotly, “It doesn’t matter to me what we were in life, it doesn’t matter now. All that matters…”, now fed up with chasing his target in circles, Salieri instead opted to climb up onto the piano, ignoring the bang of keys and the wood creaking in protest, “...is that my vengeance is fulfilled, any trace of you and your music is destroyed, burned as I was! No die-!”

Whatever climactic result Salieri expected to happen (primarily it involved his blade going straight through Amadeus’ heart), it was effectively ruined when he attempted to lunge in for the final blow and Amadeus moved back out of the way at the last moment. The momentum sent Salieri sprawling, face-first, onto the floor in a heap of red, black and silver, Wildfire Blade skittering across the floor and out of his immediate reach.

“My, that wasn’t graceful at all!” Amadeus said with a laugh as he _dared_ approach Salieri, hand outstretched to help him up.

“Stay away from me!” Salieri snarled, swiping at him like an enraged cat.

“Salieri!” a new voice interrupted. Well, new to _this_ situation, anyway. Salieri had heard that voice when he had first been summoned, the voice of his Master, Ristuka Fujimaru.

“That’s enough, cease your assault against Amadeus,” he ordered, trying to sound assertive despite obviously being somewhat winded.

“I told you that if you-.”  
  
“I’m aware of what you told me,” Ritsuka cut him off sharply, “And I will tell you what I’ve told the others; I will not get in your way unless your destructive behavior leaks into Chaldea. I would prefer to keep damage to a minimum.”

Salieri’s breath came out in a hiss, “So you still intend to get in the way of my revenge?”  
  
Ritsuka glared at him, “Don’t put words in my mouth. My only rule is that your behavior stays amicable while _in_ Chaldea. If we’re out on a mission, you’re more than welcome to take out your frustration on anything, or anyone, you see fit.”

As much as Salieri deeply resented his Master for this, for getting in between him and Amadeus, he did have a fairly reasonable point. Then again, did Avengers _ever_ do anything a normal person would consider reasonable?

“Hear that? We’ll have plenty of time ahead to catch up!” Amadeus said cheerfully.

“Amadeus, please don’t goad him,” Ritsuka said, exasperated.

“Aw, but Master, it’s such fun ruffling his feathers!”

Salieri shot him what would have been a dirty look were his entire face on concealed behind a mask.

“Well anyway,” Amadeus chirped, “If you’ll excuse me, Master, I have work to attend to.”  
  
Just as he began to walk away, Salieri scrambled to his feet. No! He wasn’t going to let him get away! Not now, not when he was so close!

“Master, I-!” he started, but Ritsuka had put himself squarely between him and the door. Even though Amadeus had long since left, Salieri’s sharp ears could still hear him whistling, even as it got fainter and fainter as he got farther away down the hall. As if sensing the lull in the decidedly hostile atmosphere, the two Servants who had previously been cowering behind the couch emerged and hastily made their exits.

Salieri moved to attempt to follow but his Master blocked his escape again, “I’m serious about what I said, Avenger.”  
  
“As am I,” Salieri growled back.

“Oh, then please, tell me now if you’d prefer I muzzle you from this point onward for not following the rules,” Ritsuka made a point to hold up the hand up which his Command Seal was emblazoned. “Because I personally would prefer not to waste a spell on such a thing.”

“Why you-!”

The slightest hint of movement behind his Master was enough to give Salieri pause. His eyes quickly tracked the source of the motion to...his shadow.

No, that wasn’t right...it _was_ a shadow, but the shadow of Ritsuka Fujimara it was not.

The shape of it was all wrong, whereas Ritsuka was wearing relatively form fitting clothing and no notable accessories, the shadow itself appeared to be wearing a cloak and a hat. That and the hair seemed longer, shoulder-length, in contrast to Ritsuka’s short, unkempt hair.

Either way, just _looking_ at it gave Salieri the impression that attempting to pick a fight right now would be a tremendously bad idea.

Deranged he may be, but Salieri wasn’t an idiot.

“Very well, I yield,” _For now_ , Salieri took a step back to prove the sincerity of his statement. Inside he was still seething at how easily his prey had slipped out of his grasp and that his ‘Master’ dared get in his way.

He reminded himself that his anger would need to be quelled for the time being if he valued his freedom.

“So tell me, _Master_ ,” he inquired as he bent down to retrieve his discarded blade, “Do you threaten all your Servants with bondage if they disobey?”

“Nah, just the problem children.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Salieri could have sworn he saw Ritsuka jump as if in surprise then glare at the ground, at his shadow.

“Is something the matter?” Salieri asked, turning to face Ritsuka once more.

“N-no, nothing,” Ritsuka said a little too quickly, “Just a chill.”

Salieri didn’t completely buy that excuse but, quite frankly, he didn’t care that much either. Carrying on a conversation right now wasn’t something he was inclined to do, not when he was in a less than favorable mood.

Salieri strode past him through the door.

“Where are you going?”  
  
“To my room, I though that was obvious,” the Avenger replied.

“Do you even remember where it was?” Ritsuka sounded relatively amused, “Or how to get back to it?”

Salieri paused and let out an annoyed sigh, “...no.”

“I’ll admit, I would have been impressed if you had!” his Master said, sidling up next to him. Salieri just grumbled illegibly in response.

“Come on, I’ll show you where the cafeteria is too,” Ritsuka gestured for him to follow, “You’ll like it here, I promise.”

_I’ll like it better once Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is dead_ , Salieri thought with a scoff, but all he did was nod obediently.

“I’m sure I will, Master.”

* * *

The walk to Salieri’s room was a quiet one, barring several Servants greeting them as they passed. After this morning’s incident, Ritsuka didn’t expect a lot from the Avenger, he was just glad he had calmed down.

He opted to just explain everything as they walked, pointing out places of note like the cafeteria and the library. He also pointed out where his own room was just in case Salieri needed him for anything. The Avenger just grunted in response.

“Here you go!” Ritsuka stopped in front of one of the many doors dotting the lengthy hallway, “It’s nothing special, but you’re welcome to decorate as you see fit.”  
  
Even Ritsuka felt that describing the room as ‘modestly furnished’ was giving it too much credit.

There was a bed, a small table with a lamp and a lone chair. Some of the Servants didn’t mind the scarcity of furniture, but others well and truly went out of their way to decorate their quarters as extravagantly as possible.

“If you need anything we might have to order it, or steal it from somewhere on a mission depending on what it is,” Ritsuka rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, recalling some of the more outlandish requests he’d received (Amadeus’ period piano came to mind, but that was the _last_ example he wanted to share with Salieri).

“A desk,” Salieri said abruptly, “...and...perhaps some paper.”

Ah finally, a request that _didn’t_ require Ritsuka to make outside orders. Although Salieri did sound reluctant to make such a request, or any request at all really. He sounded adorably bashful. 

“Sure, I bet there’s a desk laying around somewhere I can steal!” Ritsuka replied brightly, “And paper shouldn’t be too hard to come by, obviously. You’ll need pens too, right?”  
  
“Y-yes, please,” was the response. Salieri didn’t look at him and kept fidgeting with his rapier. At least, Ritsuka figured it was a rapier. It reminded him of the blade D’eon used.

“I’ll see about getting you that desk. Dinner’s at five sharp, but Tamamo Cat always leaves leftovers for the Servants who miss mealtime.”

Tamamo...Cat?”

Ritsuka laughed, “You’ll understand when you see her. She’s actually a fox but she’ll insist up, down, and sideways that she’s a cat.”

“...right.”

To be fair, Ritsuka could entirely fault him for not being totally comfortable with the other occupants of Chaldea, whacky as some of them could be.

“Do you...need anything else?” Ritsuka asked after a brief stint of uncomfortable silence.

“To be alone, please,” Salieri answered, leaning his blade against the wall.

“Okay, sure,” Ritsuka said with a smile, “You know where I’ll be if you need anything.”  
  
“Master?”  
  
“Yes?”

Salieri’s shoulders seemed to sage slightly as the Avenger let out a sigh, “Thank you.”

“Sure! Of course!” Ritsuka said cheerfully, but he was fully aware Avengers were perpetual hurricanes and that what he was seeing now was only the calm eye surrounded by a tempest of rage and madness. Best to nurse it while it was there…

From what he’d gauged based on Amadeus’ reaction, Salieri probably wasn’t a bad person. Just...one who became a Servant under bad circumstances. He wasn’t alone in that regard. Ritsuka was curious but he didn’t want to press him about that now.

“Get some rest now, Avenger. Don’t forget, dinner at five!”

The door hissed closed as he walked away and once he was a good distance away, he practically deflated, stopping once he rounded a corner to slump against the wall, shoulder and head hitting it with a dull _thud_.

A nap. He’d definitely need a nap after all that.

Perhaps it was due in part to other Avengers like the Hessian and Lobo, Gorgon, Jeanne Alter, and the Count of Monte Cristo having mellowed out (somewhat, they still tended to get worked up into a frenzy if Ritsuka didn’t keep an eye on them) that he had foolishly let himself become lax with Salieri.

The hallway he had ducked into was empty, so, to any other person, the feeling of breath tickling the back of his neck would be enough to freak him out. Ritsuka, on the other hand, was fully aware of what it was and all too familiar with what it was.

“You can come out, Edmond.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the familiar and comforting scent of cigarette smoke and the faint metallic tang of blood engulfed him like a shroud.

“Master, I must ask. Are you familiar with the phrase ‘to kick a hornet’s nest’?”

“Yes, I am,” Ritsuka pressed his fingertips against his temple as he straightened up, but still staying propped against the wall for a little while longer sounded pretty good, all things considered.

“Playing with fire would be another great analogy,” Ritsuka grumbled, “Maybe we should just compact it too ‘Ritsuka Fujimaru enjoys kicking flaming hornet’s nests’.”

The Count chuckled, “That would suggest you enjoy antagonizing us ‘problem children’.”

Ritsuka felt a smile tug at his lips as he turned around to look up at his shadow, The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantès.

“I didn’t know that phrase ruffled your feathers so much.”

“Hum, it doesn’t bother me quite as much as you think.”

“You poked the backs of me knees after I said it!” Ritsuka protested, making the Count laugh.

“Only because I know it happens to ruffle _your_ feathers, _mon petit.”_

Ritsuka felt heat flare in his cheeks, which, despite his best efforts, did not go unnoticed by his Avenger.

“Still,” Edmond’s expression clouded over somewhat, “To threaten an unfamiliar Avenger class with a restraint spell…”

“Yeah, I know, I couldn’t think of anything else. Talking him down obviously wasn’t going to work,” Ritsuka sighed and smiled, “I think I handled it well, don’t you? No panicking from me!”  
  
“Or if you did panic, you certainly did a good job hiding it,” Edmond replied as he gently took Ritsuka’s hand, “You’re still shaking.”

Sure enough, there was a faint but noticeable tremor, he gave Edmond’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“I’m _fine_ , Edmond.”

The Count hummed in response and brought Ritsuka’s knuckles to his lips. _Ever the gentleman_ , Ritsuka thought as his heart rate picked up ever so slightly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to antagonize Salieri anymore.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“What then?”

The Count sighed, “Salieri’s fixation on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a potent one, not dissimilar to the loathing harbored by the Berserker of El Dorado. If you were to get in his way again...it could very well prove to be fatal.”

Ritsuka felt a chill. Edmond did have a point. Amadeus wasn’t popular around Chaldea for a number of reasons, but not the point of utter, murderous hatred. Not like Salieri. The young magus chewed the inside of his mouth but didn’t say anything.

Edmond tilted his head, “Master?”

“I know...I just...you’re right,” Ritsuka grumbled, “Avengers are more single-minded than Berserkers. I should have known b-.”

He was cut off by a hand grabbing his chin and forcing him to look up.

“Single-minded you say?” Edmond said as he gave Ritsuka a smile that was bordering on wolfish. Despite his surprise and the blush he could feel creeping up his neck, Ritsuka still managed to level back a challenging glare.

“Go ahead. Try to deny it. You Avengers _love_ to hyperfixate on things.”

Edmond laughed his distinctive (might as well be signature at this point) laugh and let go of Ritsuka.

“Again, I won’t deny it, but I find some do fixate less than others.”

“Well, yeah, there’s always exceptions,” Ritsuka had to stifle a whine after Edmond released him, he hoped that wasn’t too evident in his voice, “Salieri just doesn’t happen to be one of them.”

“The best thing you can do is what you do with Penthesilea and Achilles; keep them apart best you can.”

“That’s the problem though. I don’t think Amadeus _wants_ to keep his distance, his own self-preservation be damned,” Ritsuka pointed out.

“Regrettably."

Ritsuka sighed and rubbed the back of his head, “At least it seems Salieri took my threat seriously, so here’s hoping he can contain himself.”

“We’ll see, but _mon cheri_ ,” Edmond’s brows furrowed in concern, “Don’t let your guard down around him.”

“I’m always careful Edmond!” Ritsuka gave him his best reassuring smile, but his gut was still churning with uneasiness.

Why? Salieri was no different from an other Avenger class wandering around Chaldea. Dangerous, yes, but it wasn’t like any of the others regarded him with hostility. This extended back to when they were first summoned too. Ritsuka had never felt like he, or any of the other Servants for that matter, were in actual danger.

Perhaps he was getting too arrogant as a Master…

“Ritsuka?”

“Huh?”

“Care to share what’s on your mind?”

Ritsuka shook his head, “It’s nothing important.”

The look on Edmond’s face said he didn’t quite believe it, but if he had wanted to say anything, he had opted not too.

“But you want to know what I _really_ need now?” Ritsuka stretched his arms over his head, “A good, long nap.”

“And I presume you want me to volunteer my lap for this nap?”

Ritsuka pouted, “Or you could take a nap _with_ me.”

“Servants don’t need sleep.”

“Funny, that didn’t seem to deter you when were on vacation in Hawaii.”  
  
“Luluhawa, you mean and I’d hardly call that a vacation,” Edmond looked amused, “Who’s to say I was asleep when we shared a bed?”  
  
“Ugh, okay, creep,” Ritsuka rolled his eyes.

“I never said I was watching _you_. The hotel did have TV services.”

“What on earth would the Count of Monte Cristo watch on on-demand TV?”

“Spanish soap operas,” Edmond replied, matter-of-factly, as if this was something everyone should know the answer too, “Absurd as they are, they are quite amusing to watch.”

“Oh right, I forgot you spoke Spanish.”

Ritsuka held up his finger when Edmond went to speak, “Don’t start, I have a hard enough time keeping up with Marie and Amadeus when they start speaking in German.”

“Your French is getting better at least.”

“Did Marie tell you that?”

“Yes,” the Count gave him an amused smirk, “Jeanne Alter said your phrasing could use work though.”

“I...you know what? I’ll take the grammar lesson later,” Ritsuka huffed, waving his hand, “I can hear my bed beckoning me, telling me to avoid any and all challenges presented to me until I am well rested!”  
  
Edmond laughed and shook his head, Ritsuka smiled.

“You’re still welcome to join me.”

“I think I will, and even if I don’t feel like sleeping there are plenty of books for me to catch up on.”

“Oh c’mon, I’m not sleeping _that_ long!”

“You say that, but if one thing I’ve learned is that you could probably sleep through Chaldea exploding.”

“Okay, whatever Count,” Ritsuka started off down the hall. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Edmond melt into a puddle of darkness that merged with his own shadow. Even though there was no physical contact, Ritsuka still felt like a warm, safe blanket had been draped over his shoulder. Comforting. Ritsuka loved it.

There was a lot of stuff to worry about with a new Avenger in town, but first...nap.


	2. Breakfast at Chaldeas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO CHAPTERS IN TWO DAYS?! Well yeah, figured I'd get some pieces out of it out while I finished typing up the rest.  
> There will be action next chapter, so don't fret~  
> (Also featuring a personal and probably inaccurate interpretation of how ascension works)  
> Aside: Tamamo Cat is a lot of fun to write

Salieri spent the next few days or so cooped up in his room, avoiding contact with others as much as possible.

Ritsuka had been true to his word and had delivered a desk and a sizable pile of paper a mere day after his arrival. Thus far, all the paper had been used for was to make an ever growing pile of crumpled paper balls, signs of Salieri’s stress about his own work. No one else needed to see it...he had considered shredding the failed compositions with his claws, but that would have just made a further mess.

On the odd occasion he did venture out, it was to get snacks and drinks, and it was usually well after the alloted meal times. Tamamo Cat was indeed...something. She had greeted him with an expression full of cheer and a kindness that either showed total ignorance in regards to Salieri or just...total ignorance in general. He was dying to know why she insisted she was a cat, but still said ‘woof’ at random times. Another kitchen Servant, a white-haired Archer named Emiya, had told him not to worry about it.

Despite Cat’s insistence, Salieri still regularly returned to his room. Emiya, thankfully, seemed to be more sympathetic and usually was more than happy to provide him with a selection of boxed lunches.

“I’m not sure what you like, so I just made a bunch,” the Archer said, presenting Salieri with a tray stacked with at least six different meals, all delicately put together and as carefully arranged as to be pleasing to the eye as they were to the tastebuds, no doubt.

Salieri stared at the meals for a good minute.

“Something wrong?” Emiya asked.

“Dessert.”  
  
“Sorry?”

“Dessert. You know, like...cookies or cake?”

“Oh, uh…” Emiya scratched his chin, “Hey Cat!”  
  
“Yeeees?” Tamamo Cat responded in a sing-song voice as she practically bounced out of the kitchen, the bell around her neck jingling the whole way.

“Do we have anything in the dessert family left over? I know everyone loves to snack on that stuff and it’s always the first thing gone…”

“Woof! We do!” she replied giddily before bounding back into the kitchen and reappearing not a moment later holding a covered dish.

“Ta-daaaah~!” she removed the dish cover with a flourish that suggested she was, at the very least, used to displaying her culinary exploits in a dramatic fashion.

Sitting on the dish was quite possibly the loveliest strawberry shortcake Salieri had ever seen; thick, spongey yellow cake, fluffy tufts of whipped cream and strawberries set like rubies with the utmost care and precision.

_Antonio Salieri liked sweets...I like sweets….I’m not Salieri…_

The Avenger gave his head a shake, he could lament his identity crisis later. It didn’t matter if he was Salieri or not, no man would turn down a chance to sample a cake like that.

“I’d love to try it,” he said as he placed the tray of meals down on the counter.

“Of course! Oh, um…” Tamamo Cat looked around frowning, then her big ears perked up, “Emiya-Chan, can I use your dagger?”  
  
“What?! No! I told you, my swords are not intended to be used in a kitchen setting!”

Tamamo Cat whined loudly, her ears and tail drooped and her big eyes started to fill with tears.

“But...I want Mister Salieri to have some cake…”

Emiya sighed, “And he can certainly have some, he’s not going to get offended if you can’t give it to him right away.”

Cat sniffed and, while still looking like she was seconds away from bursting into tears said, “You won’t?”

Salieri shrugged, “I have no where else to be.”

And just as quickly as she’d been teetering on the edge of bawling, any indicator she had been upset in the first place vanished in an instant, “Horray!”

“Don’t get too excited, you’ll drop the cake before anyone gets a chance to have a slice,” Emiya chided, gently taking the dish from her and placing it on the counter next to Salieri, “C’mon, let’s get a knife and a serving spatula.”

The two chefs disappeared into the back, Tamamo Cat singing a horribly off key yet somehow still endearing song about...something? Salieri could have sworn he at least heard the word ‘tomato’.

Up close, the cake looked even more scrumptious. He could smell the sweetness of the cream, the ever so slight tanginess of the strawberries…

He glanced briefly up at the kitchen doorway and when he was only met with the clatter of cooking utensils, he decided to hell with it and picked up the whole cake, placing it on top of his tray and quickly exiting the cafeteria.

He’d apologize to Tamamo Cat later.

The meals Emiya had so kindly put together went ignored that night as Salieri opted instead to devour the whole cake in one sitting while working on yet another composition...that would become yet _another_ crumpled ball on the ever growing pile of failure.

Why was he even trying so hard? It’s not like he had a reputation to maintain or a point to prove. His work was all trash anyway...compared to _his_ music.

Some untold amount of time had passed, but he figured it must have been morning by this point. The knock on his door gave him a start, and Salieri very nearly answered it with several sheets of paper plastered to his face and frosting on his claws. He didn’t even remember when exactly he’d fallen asleep at his desk.

“I’m coming, I’m coming…” he grumbled as he peeled the sheet off his face, using it to clean off his claws before balling it up and tossing it aside.

He wasn’t sure who exactly he was expecting, but somehow he shouldn’t have been surprised it was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Ritsuka.

“Morning!” he greeted.

“Yes, good morning,” Salieri responded, trying and failing not to sound uninterested.

“Are you, uh, busy?” he asked, peering around the Avenger. Embarrassed, Salieri moved to block his view of the discarded drafts in the far corner.

“No.”  
  
“Oh, great. I have something for you,” Ritsuka said with a grin, “We’ll be a little late for breakfast, hope that won’t be an issue.”

“Not especially,” Salieri preferred to go out only after the general meal rush had passed, but no point in getting into semantics if it was, in fact, this early in the morning.

“Great!” Ritsuka marched off down the hall.

“Wait, where are we going?” Salieri asked, chasing after his Master.

“I’m not going to let you gather dust,” Ritsuka replied, “And I’ve got plenty of mats for you.”

“Mats?”  
  
“Oh. Materials. Sorry.”

Salieri still didn’t get it but there was no denying his curiosity had been piqued.

As they walked, Ritsuka cheerfully greeted the Servants they passed, but they always regarded Salieri with suspicion. The Avenger chalked it up to his classes reputation...either that or the rampage he’d gone on when he’d first arrived hadn’t left a good impression. It was probably the latter.

Ritsuka led him into a dimly lit room, illuminated mostly by the magic circle on the floor. There were shelves stocked with all sorts of things; miniature statues, jars of glittering purple dust, pages with nondescript writings on them engulfed in turquoise flames and held together with a cluster of paperclips…

“What is this place?” Salieri asked as he examined a red, teardrop shape gemstone.

“Storage, mostly,” Ritsuka said as he dropped a wooden crate on the floor, “But this is where Servants gain their ascensions and become more powerful.”

Salieri laughed hollowly, “Do you really think it a wise idea to give the likes of _me_ power?”

“I mean, you aren’t the only Avenger here,” Ritsuka said, gesturing for Salieri to come over, a faintly glowing star-shaped gemstone in his hand, “I’ve also had my fair share of Servants threaten to rip my spine out...or uh, something other body part. As you can see though, I'm still intact, so I’m not too worried.”

“That strikes me as something one shouldn’t be so terribly nonchalant about...not that I have any place to speak.”

“Eh, I’m used to it- could you stand over there, please?”

Salieri obeyed and took up position within the magic circle while Ritsuka carefully spread out a pile of dark red bones and a few piles of that purple dust.

“I see your shadow isn’t with you today,” Salieri noted.

Wh- huh? Oh, you mean Edmond,” Ritsuka had actually turned to look at the floor for a moment before looking back up, blushing faintly, “He likes to have coffee with the writer Servants in the morning, so despite what everyone says, we’re not attached at the hip _all_ the time. Or shadow, rather.”

“Hm, I see,” Salieri noted, “So tell me, have you deemed me safe to be around then?”

“I never considered you dangerous,” Ritsuka smied fondly up at the Avenger. Salieri attempted to parse whether or not he was lying but it was probably Ritsuka’s somewhat doe-eyed expression that was throwing him off.

“Edmond was just being over-protective, like he usually is.”

Ritsuka picked up a crate and dumped a huge pile of golden gemstones in front of Salieri without much prompting. The magic circle lit up brilliant within seconds as the gemstones were absorbed.

“Um…”  
  
“Embers,” Ritsuka said before picking up the pile of bones and tossing them on the circle as well, “Trust me. I don’t know how this ascension stuff works either.”

Salieri just nodded. Ritsuka pushed the piles of dust into the circle, turning the glowing runes from blue to an ominous red.

“Okay, ready?” Ritsuka asked as he stood up, dusting his hands off.

“Do I have a choice?” Salieri asked dryly.

Ritsuka smiled as he pulled out a handful of gemstones out of his pocket and closed his hand into a fist around them When he opened his palm, the gems had become a fluid and oozed onto the ground. The circle lit up even more, blindingly so, and Salieri had to shield his gaze from the light.

When it finally faded, he opened his eyes and was greeted not with the red armor of his Wailing Facade, but the soft pinstripe fabric of a jacket and...soft...gloved hands, not claws. He reflectively reached up to his face. No mask.

Even Ritsuka looked surprised, “Well…”

Salieri didn’t like this, it felt _wrong_. Not just because he denied being Salieri but it felt like a piece of him was missing, like he had been stripped of his own flesh and being. The Façade was still there, still howling, it just wasn’t on his exterior anymore.

“Avenger?” Ritsuka was regarding him with a worried expression.

Salieri wanted to scream, he wanted to blame Ritsuka for this awful feeling, he wanted to attack him and make him pay, but just then the door opened.

“Senpai?”  
  
“Oh, Mash,” Ritsuka said, “What’s up?”

The girl, small of stature with spectacles and pink hair, walked into the room.

“I came to get you for breakfast, you weren’t back from helping Mister Salieri, so I was getting a little worried,” she then looked at him apologetically, “Erm...n-no offense, Mister Salieri.”

The Avenger clenched his gloved hands, “It’s fine, Miss Mash. Your concern is not misplaced, after all.”

Ritsuka quickly shot him an irritated look, but then opted to address Mash instead, “We’re done here anyway, you can tell Edmond I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Mash huffed, “Senpai! You know the Count isn’t the only one who worries about you!”

Ritsuka laughed, “I’m know, I’m kidding. Why don’t we all head over for breakfast?”

Salieri wanted to decline the offer, he really, _really_ wanted to. He wanted to go back to his room, but he was a strong inkling there would be no arguing about this.

“Okay…” Salieri grumbled, defeated. While he sincerely doubted his Master would use a command spell to make him attend a meal, he wasn’t going to risk that possibility.

After Ritsuka placed the crate back against the wall, the three of them made their way towards the cafeteria. Salieri wasn’t used to the cafeteria being so busy, so the noise was the first thing he picked up on. Servants of all kinds were crowded into the dining hall. Some Salieri had seen in the hallways, others he’d never encountered before. Some in clothing he was familiar with, others in garb from far off lands, all different kinds of classes too.

To say this was a sensory overload would be an understatement.

“Master! Aqui! Aqui!” a voice called immediately before a blonde woman clad in vibrant feathers and bright clothing practically jumped across the cafeteria over to them, her green eyes sparkling as she beamed, “Buenos dias, Master! Mash!”  
  
“Good morning to you too, Quetzalcoatl,” Mash said.

“You two were running late, what would you have done if you had missed the most important meal of the day!”

“Planning another workout routine for the Servants today?” Ritsuka asked but Salieri could see his Master had grimaced ever so slightly at the mention of a ‘workout routine’.

“Por supesto! Or...maybe? Haven’t decided yet,” the woman said. Abruptly, her attention snapped to Salieri.

“¿Quién es este? New Servant?”

“Si, Antonio Salieri. Placer cono certe,” Salieri said, utilizing what little Spanish he could actually remember.

“This is-.”  
  
“Oh Master, I can introduce myself!” the woman exclaimed bashfully, before flashing Salieri a toothy smile, “Quetzalcoatl, sun goddess, Rider, luchadores expert-”

“Big sis,” Ritsuka added.

“That too,” the goddess winked.

“Did you need something, Quetzalcoatl?” Mask asked curiously.

“Oh, nothing. Just wanted Master to join me for breakfast this beautiful morning! Yes!”

“Well, I-,” Ritsuka didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence before Quetzalcoatl grabbed his arm and proceeded to practically hoist him off the floor like he was some kind of doll and carted him back across the cafeteria the way she’d originally come from. This was evidently not a negotiable request. Salieri wasn’t surprised, that did seem like goddess-like behavior.

“Senpai! Oh dear, I’m sorry Mister Salieri!” Mash bowed a little bit and ran off in the direction Quetzalcoatl and Ritsuka had flown off in, leaving him standing there dumbly in the doorway.

This was his chance, he could easily bolt and hide in his room, get something to eat later...saying he even had an appetite. By all accounts, an ascension should have felt _great_ , but all his had done was make him feel sick.

“Goooood morning, new Avenger! You look like a little lost puppy dog, maybe the best kouhai in Chaldea can help?”  
  
Salieri practically jumped a foot in the air and whipped around. The owner of the voice laughed, a bubbly sound that matched her appearance; a purple haired girl in a pale yellow jacket and skirt and she had on a rather scanty white top, white sports cap that was facing backwards and white shoes.

“Skittish, aren’t you? That’s cute! The other Avengers aren’t cute,” she winked and stuck her tongue out, “Angra Mainyu would be cute if he weren’t such a nobody.”

“I’m...sorry. Who are you, exactly?” despite the girl’s bright appearance, something about her set him on edge, like that high pitched ringing that lingered in one’s ears too long.

“I told you, I’m the best kouhai!” she made a heart shape with her hands.  
  
“I don’t know what that means.”

The girl pouted, “Geeze. I knew you were green but I had no idea you were _that_ green.”

Salieri just stared at her. If only he could use her as an excuse to get away…

“Well, Mister Avenger, you’ve had the honor of meeting the best and most beautiful Servant in Chaldea! The smartest and most delicate maiden, the best kouhai-”

“Knock if off, BB,” a man's voice interrupted the girl’s speech.

Her expression clouded over suddenly, “Don’t you know it’s _rude_ to interrupt a lady when she’s talking, Matcha?”

“Only if it’s to keep you from getting your hooks into the new guy," the man who walked up beside Salieri was tall and lean with a mess of red hair clad entirely in green,  
"But then again, I have awful luck with women, so maybe I’m just cursed to eternally enrage them.”

“You’re just a special kind of man, Matcha, how about you run off now, hm?”

“Or what? You’ll turn me into a pig?” the man quipped, “At least Circe and I are on pretty good terms. I’ll just have to get her to short the curse out again.”

“Grr…” the girl, who’s name was evidently BB, clenched her jaw, but as soon as she looked back at Salieri, her polite, cheerful mannerisms returned.

“Don’t let that sore loser ruin your day. If you ever need anything, just let ol’ BB take care of it!” she winked again and help up two fingers in a v-shape, “Buh-bye!”

In a blink, she was gone. Salieri was still reeling until the man tapped him on the shoulder.

“She does that. You okay?”

“Who...what...what was that?”

“ _That_ was BB. I swear, Master keeps trying to get rid of her but she’s latched onto Chaldea like a giant purple tick. Do yourself a favor and keep your distance.”

“Also, what was that about her turning you into a pig?”

“Don’t ask. Oh, it looks like Amadeus is trying to get your attention,” he nodded forward and Salieri turned to look out over the sea of Servants. Sure enough, the man he hated the most was indeed waving ecstatically in his direction.

“Anyway, see you ‘round,” the man gave him a pat on the shoulder before making his way over to a table occupied by a much younger man with blonde hair who was cleaning a revolver and a dark skinned man with his hair in braids, who took notice of Salieri and gave him a polite nod in greeting.

“Salieri!” Amadeus said gleefully as he trotted over, still waving. Salieri’s Wailing Façade was _screaming_ , but the Avenger did his best to squash it for the time being.

“Look at you! I must admit, that look is much more tasteful than what you were sporting when you first got here, although your hair…” Amadeus frowned, “Nah forget it. Why don’t you join us for breakfast?”  
  
“Do I have a choice?” Salieri asked wryly.

“Nope!” Amadeus grabbed his wrist and proceeded to guide him through the crowd, thankfully not as roughly as Quetzalcoatl had done with Ritsuka.

“I haven’t seen you in days! Do you have any idea how lonely I was?”

“Not really.”  
  
Amadeus pouted, “What were you doing anyway?”

 _Suffering, being a failure, like usual_ , he wanted to say since his frustration was just building and building.

“Working,” he opted to say instead.

“Ooh? A new piece! You’ll have to play it for me when it’s done!”

 _After I smash your skull to pieces against the edge of the piano,_ Salieri thought, his Wailing Façade hissing like an enraged serpent, “Maybe.”

“I’m sure you’d love to hear all my new pieces, right? Of course you do,” Amadeus continued, ever the egotist...not that Salieri was surprised, “And there are other musician Servants here, not that they’re as good as me of course but-”

“But? But wh-?” Salieri walked smack into Amadeus, who had stopped abruptly and without much explicable reason.

“Amadeus, what the hell?”

“Sanson,” the venom oozing from the Caster’s voice was, quite frankly, impressive, even to Salieri.

The man seated at the table, young-ish, with white hair and icy blue eyes clad in a heavy black trenchcoat turned and gave Amadeus a cool smirk.

“That’s _my_ seat, Sanson.”

“You moved,” he replied shortly, he turned to Salieri and raised an eyebrow, “And this is?”

“My old friend, Antonio Salieri,” Amadeus replied, giving Salieri’s wrist a squeeze. Friend. Ha.

“What? Friend?” the man named Sanson snorted, “ _You_ have friends?”

Before either man could continue hurling insults at one another, there was a solid _thwack_ and Sanson yelped in surprise, withdrawing his hand to massage the red spot that had appeared.

“Be nice, Charles,” a delicate voice scolded, “And Amadeus, you sat next to me yesterday, let Charles have a turn.”

“But Maria…!” Amadeus whined in what was quite possibly the most irritating voice imaginable.

“Stop acting like a child, Amadeus. Sit. Let us enjoy our breakfast.”

Grumbling, Amadeus and Salieri (who Amadeus was still holding onto) moved to the other side of the table to sit down.

“Is this Mister Salieri then?” the owner of the delicate voice asked.

Salieri was struck dumb but this young woman. Everything about her was radiant, pure, soft, like fresh white lilies. She was doll-like, with wide, sky-blue eyes and long platinum hair held up in a set up slightly curled twin-tails. She smiled kindly at him.

“Y-yes,” he said when he finally refocused, “Antonio Salieri. That’s...me…”

 _No, it’s not_ , his Façade growled. He looked up at the young woman again.

_Okay, I think I can be Salieri right now though…_

“C'est magnifique! Amadeus was so thrilled you were here in Chaldea. I couldn’t wait to meet the man who would excite him so,” when she smiled, the edges of her eyes crinkled in the most endearing way possible, “Vive la France! I am Marie Antoinette! It is a pleasure to meet you!”

Alright, _not_ who Salieri was expecting to be introduced to this morning.

“Your...your brother…” he said, zoning out slightly. Why did he...what was that memory?

“Hm?”

“Oh, f-forgive me, uh...yes, nice it meet you, your highness.”

“No need to be so formal, Antonio, just call me Marie!” she gave him a sparkling smile, “Although, word of warning, some nobles here aren’t so casual when it comes to titles.”  
  
“Wait, there are _other_ nobles here?” Salieri asked incredulously.

“Of course, it would be quite lonely were I the only one here!” Marie exclaimed.

Judging by everyone else’s reaction, which was none, this was indeed just how things were in Chaldea. Salieri decided it would be best to just accept it and move on.

“Hm, anyway. I haven’t seen you around, Antonio. Were you perhaps hiding somewhere?” Marie asked before taking a sip of the steaming beverage in her mug.

“Did Master put you on house arrest until now?” Amadeus asked, Salieri gave him a dirty look.

“No. I just didn’t feel like coming out.”

“Are you perhaps shy, Monsieur Salieri?” Marie asked with a giggle. The question was as innocent as innocent could get but Salieri still blushed. 

“N-no, that wasn’t it…” Salieri grumbled.

 _It was because of_ him _,_ his Façade hissed. _So long as he’s alive, I will never know peace, I will never rest, I will never-._

“Antonio?”

Salieri jolted as the sound of Marie’s voice, hastily reigning his Wailing Façade back in before it slipped loose off its leash.

“Sorry,” he shook his head, “I was...spacing out.”

“It’s perfectly fine, what do you want to eat?”

“Eh?” Salieri stopped staring vacantly at the table and looked up to see none other than Tamamo Cat standing there with a notepad and pen in her giant paws. Somehow.

“Er…”

“Goooooood mooooorning everyone! Woof!” she greeted, “Are there any special requests, if not today’s meal is French toast with fruit and sweeeet cream cheese!”

Her big, fluffy tail was waving back and forth with such enthusiasm that all the Servants passing by had to give her substantial berth to avoid being hit.

“Oh my, that sounds delightful!” Marie clasped her hands together.

“I’d much prefer my usual steel cut oats,” Sanson replied taking a sip of his tea.

“Fruit and walnuts?”

“Please.”

“Ah, I think I’ll just take today’s special,” Amadeus agreed, “What about you Sal-?”  
  
Salieri had been too preoccupied with trying to sink down in his seat, hoping Tamamo Cat didn’t see him. Everyone at the table, having noticed this, were all giving him strange looks. This, naturally, gave him away to the one person he was trying to avoid.

“Oh, Mister Salieri!” she chirped, “Good morning! You’re actually here today!”

“Yes…”

“That makes me so happy, woof! You’ll get to experience my and Emiya-chan’s cooking fresh off the griddle!”

“R-right…” had she not noticed the missing cake..? No, there was no _way,_ she hadn’t noticed.

“Salieri is there any reason you’re trying to stuff yourself under the table?” Amadeus asked.

“Oh! I bet I know! Don’t worry, you shouldn’t be embarrassed about it! I can’t blame anyone who wants to eat my wonderful desserts in one sitting!”

Marie gaped and Sanson snorted his tea. Amadeus just burst out laughing.

“You haven’t changed at all, have you, old friend?”

Amadeus yelped when Salieri jabbed him in the side directly under his ribcage.

“A... _whole_ cake?” Sanson asked.

“Yes…” Salieri grumbled, “I’m sorry, Miss Cat. I should have asked.”

“Don’t worry about it! I had a dozen other ones in the fridge,” she said, “You ate the whole thing, right? I bet you did, bark!”

“Small mercy Servants can’t get fat…” Sanson added unhelpfully as he contemplated his teacup, at this point, Marie was attempting to smother her laughter in her mug.

“Yes. I’ll just...take the French toast…” he relented finally.

“Woof! You got it! Be right back!” she skipped off.

After a minute, Salieri sat back up and dug his fingers into his temples.

“...did you seriously steal a whole cake?”

Salieri glared at Amadeus, who looked like he was seconds away from laughing again.

“Look, I’m not proud of it, okay?”

Amadeus hid his grin behind his hand while his shoulders shook lightly with laughter.

“I take it you enjoy sweets, Antonio?” Marie asked, leaning her chin against her hand.

“...yes.”  
  
“Like I said, some things don’t change,” Amadeus said with a fond smile, but all it made Salieri want to do was punch him in the face, “I swear, this man would have eaten dessert for every meal of the day if it was allowed.”

Marie giggled and Salieri felt the tips of his ears burning.

“We should compare our favorite desserts, no?” she suggested thoughtfully.

Strangely enough, Salieri felt his lips twitch into a smile, even if it was small one. How was it, this young woman he’d never met before could have such sway over him already? His rage was still there but it was gently burning, a mere pile of embers instead of a raging inferno, even with Amadeus directly to his right. If Marie were here then…

He glanced at the musician sitting next to him.

Maybe he could put up with this torment a little longer, not for Master but for Marie.

“Hey, hey Salieri,” Amadeus interrupted his thoughts but pinching his arm repeatedly. Salieri jerked his arm away and made to snap at him, but Marie intervened, scolding Amadeus for being a pest.

_Maybe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional notes:  
> -Antonio Salieri really did have a fondness for sweets, this obviously had to make its way into the story.


	3. Melt's Symphony of Destruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now in an episode of "Koven attempting to translate video game logic into actual literary text".

If Salieri hadn't been social before, the ascension had just made him downright _antisocial,_ this was largely due in part due to how much he _hated_ his human form.

All things considered, he wasn’t a bad looking man. He didn’t have a great memory of what he resembled in life, although the way Amadeus had spoken about his hair color told him _that_ had at least changed. Objectively, it wasn’t his looks that bothered him, it just felt...wrong. Everything felt wrong. This face, this body, it _wasn’t_ his...he was Antonio Salieri, Avenger. Monster. The Wailing Façade was his true form, what he felt safe in, not... _this_.

He wished it would go back to before, when he was inhuman and everyone wanted to avoid him. This ascension had just become incredibly inconvenient seeing as now Servants would just approach him casually and would...treat him...like everyone _else_....in hindsight, considering both the appearance and class of certain Servants didn’t deter the more friendly sorts, he probably shouldn’t have been surprised. Tamamo Cat was a prime example of this. 

“Ah Salieri, there you are.”

The Avenger looked up from the piano keyboard. At some point, he'd made his way to the music room he'd found when he first arrived in Chaldea, but he wasn't playing so much as just idly tapping the keys. He didn't feel remotely comfortable playing any of his 'new' pieces (what of those were finished anyway) or even his old ones for that matter...

_The compositions of Antonio Salieri...not me…_

“You ready to go out?” Ritsuka asked.

“Out? Where?” 

“We’ll Rayshift. I have coordinates already. I need to get mats for some other Servants.”

“And we get those...how?”

“Killing enemies!" 

Salieri raised an eyebrow. For someone seemingly so innocent, Salieri was mildly amused by how up front Ritsuka was about, well, murder. 

“You haven’t had a chance to head out with a team yet, you feeling up to it?”

Salieri glanced at the piano briefly then back at Ritsuka, “I suppose I’ll have to stretch my limbs eventually. It is my duty as a Servant after all.”

Ritsuka laughed, “Don't think like that, you have every right to say no if you're not interested-."

“I was also getting bored."

“Great! Let’s head out now then, your teammates are already prepped and eager to go.”  
  
“Who are my teammates?”

“You’ll meet them when we get to the area,” Ritsuka replied. Salieri didn’t appreciate the guessing game that Ritsuka was playing, but he figured this was something he did either to all new Servants or just to the Servants in general. The Master did seem to have a touch of a mischievous streak...

"Fine, fine, let's not keep them waiting then."

* * *

The trip felt similar to when he had been summoned, except instead of the dry, sterile halls of Chaldea, he had to shield his eyes from the sun when they arrived...wherever they were. They were standing in a field next to a dense forest, a cool breeze made the greenery rustle and the air smelled of morning dew and wildflowers. 

“Aaand...perfect landing,” Ritsuka reported as he messed around with a strange flat device Salieri had learned was called a ‘tablet’.

“Where are we?” 

“Somewhere in America, uh…” Ritsuka checked the screen, “Looks like we’re in the Black Hills.”

“ And my team is...where exactly?” Salieri asked, looking around. 

Ritsuka opened his mouth to speak but stopped, cutting himself off and then, gesturing to his ear with his finger. Salieri initially didn’t understand what Ritsuka was getting at until his sharp hearing picked up a sound that was distinctly out of place in their location; the strings of a harp being plucked...a little too harshly in his personal musical opinion. 

“Follow the music,” Ritsuka nodded in the direction of the forest, “I have to check on the other team, but that shouldn’t take long. Why don’t you go meet up with the other two?”

“Sure,” Salieri paused, “Can I...at least get a description of the people I’m looking for?”

“A red head and a woman on stilts.”  
  
“Are you serious?”

They exchanged looks but based on Ritsuka’s expression he was, in fact, being serious.

“Okay, fine,” Salieri threw his hands up in defeat.

“I’ll catch up with you guys in a few minutes. Be careful though, these woods aren’t entirely unoccupied and the locals don’t like us too much.”

“Grand,” Salieri rolled his eyes. Ritsuka shooed him off before taking off in the opposite direction, heading towards what looked like a dirt path that disappeared over a dip in a hill.

For a forest that was supposedly so hostile, Salieri found it quite serene. The overhead branches were rather dense, so what sparse beams of light there were cast slowly shifting shadows on the ground below. Now that he was alone, free of any outside stressors, Salieri felt like he could properly center himself. He wished it could be like this back in Chaldea, he wished he could be at peace like this, was it really so much to ask for serenity once in a while? He wasn’t at peace in the confines of his own _room_ for God’s sake.

It most likely had something to do with being so infuriatingly close to the subject of his torment and being unable to do anything about it. For the most part, he’d done an admirable job avoiding Amadeus...for the most part. To say Amadeus had been aggressively pursuing him in an attempt to renew their friendship would be an understatement. The Caster had even started showing up at his room at inconvenient times, rambling about music pieces or wanting to invite him to tea or lunch or whatever until Salieri ignored him long enough he loudly started making inappropriate comments, at which point Salieri’s patience ran out and he would chase the man off. Sanson had suggested moving rooms, but Salieri knew that Amadeus would just keep finding him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a twig snapping, his own doing, but the sound was loud enough to make him jump. The music cut off abruptly and silence crashed down around him. No wind, no birds, even his breathing seemed much too noisy, so he held it instead.

That was when he heard it; the sharp twang of an instrument string being plucked, but if Salieri had to describe it, it was the audio equivalent of razor wire. He barely had time to dive out of the way before the weaponized sound wave collided with the tree directly behind him. Donning his Wailing Façade, he managed to throw up his arm to shield his face from the explosion of splinters.

“Hmm...curious indeed...few Servants can so quickly dodge my attacks,” came a soft, almost feminine voice.

“What can I say. I’ve got excellent ears,” Salieri said as he stood up and brushed the debris off his shoulder “That is quite the curious instrument you have.”

“And _you_ are quite the curious Servant,” from the other side of a nearby tree emerged a man as light and elegant as the voice he spoke with.

He was clad in stunning silver armor and a white cloak, and in his hand was the instrument in question; a sizable harp in the shape of a large bow. He carried no arrows to fire, but Salieri quickly figured out the weaponized sound wave had come from this man.

“You must be part of the team I’m looking for,” Salieri concluded. He gave thought to dismissing his Wailing Façade but opted against it since he felt much safer and...more _normal_ as such.

“I believe so, I am Sir Tristan, of King Arthur’s valiant Knights of the Round Table,” the man said with a flourishing bow.

“An Archer class I assume?”

“You would assume correct.”

“Tris,” a female voice whined, “Who are you blabbering too? We’re supposed to be getting ready to fight.”

From around the same tree appeared a woman who was, yes, on stilts. Master’s descriptions, if vague, had been right on the nose.

The straight, faintly glowing blue stilts aside, she was clad in a large, ruffled white dress and...not much else. Salieri was honestly glad his Façade prevented others from seeing both his eyes and the flush of embarrassment flaring in his cheeks.

Despite wishing for a bucket of cold water to appear and douse him, he managed to pull himself together and look up. He was surprised by the cool gaze he met, and the purple hair and...wait a second…

“BB?” he blurted out before he could stop himself. Her cool gaze quickly turned murderous and she made a point to stand in such a way that she loomed menacingly over him. Salieri wasn’t short by any means, so he was rather taken aback by this.

“Do I _look_ like BB to you?” she demanded angrily, although this brief stint of fury was quickly ruined by the dumb look she got on her face as she spluttered, “D-don’t answer that! W-what I meant was...was...how d-dare you compare me to that virulent Moon Cancer!”  
  
“I…” Salieri wasn’t sure how to respond to that and more to the point, what on earth was a Moon Cancer?

“Now, now. It is entirely possible he was unaware of your tiff with BB-” Tristan interjected, totally calm, cool, and collected.

“Y-yes! Maybe! B-but how dare he mistake me for that cow!” Not-BB complained, crossing her long-sleeved covered arms.

“It would be disingenuous to say you do not resemble BB to some extent,” Tristan pointed out.

Not-BB puffed out her cheeks, “That’s not fair, Tristan !”

“Excuse me,” Salieri coughed, “It wasn’t my intent to antagonize you. I sincerely apologize Miss-?”  
  
“This is-.”

“I can introduce myself thank you,” she cut him off and quickly turned her icy gaze back to Salieri, “Meltryllis, class, Alter Ego.”  
  
“And not BB,” Tristan added.

“Absolutely."

“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” Tristan tilted his head as he looked at Salieri, “And you already know our names and classes.”

“Antonio Salieri, Avenger class,” he replied, gently tapping the flat part of his blade against his palm.

“Avenger, huh,” Meltryllis tapped her sleeved hand against her chin, “I’ve heard gossip about a new Avenger, must be you.”

“There haven’t been any new ones, as far as I’m aware,” Tristan idly stroked his fingers over the strings of his harp and giving them a gentle pluck. Even that was enough to create a small gust of wind.

“Avenger types like to keep to themselves anyway,” Meltryllis said with a shrug.

“An Avenger with an ear for music, evidently,” Tristan looked at Salieri in...some manner. His closed eyes prevented Salieri from actually determining how exactly he was being regarded.

“Yes. I was a musician by trade.”  
  
 _No, you weren’t,_ the voice of his Facade sneered in his head, _You are a talentless hack, you are not Antonio Salieri…_

“Avenger?” Meltryllis interrupted.

“Sorry…” Salieri shook his head. “What’s your connection to BB, if I may ask?”

“Ugh, she’d probably describe herself as our ‘creator’ or 'mother', but she dumped us like garbage," Meltryllis replied, lip curling in disgust, "Makes my skin crawl."  
  
“I’m sorry, 'us'?”

“Meltryllis has two sisters,” Tristan explained, “Passionlip, who has huge claws-.”  
  
“And boobs the size of genetically enhanced watermelons.”

“That’s an...oddly specific description…”

 _Also, why does that sound familiar?_ Salieri thought. Huge claws, huge chest, most likely looks similar to Meltryllis…

Wait a second…

* * *

_Barely 24 hours ago (give or take a few minutes)_

As per usual, Amadeus had decided to hover outside Salieri’s door and also, as per usual, it got to the point the Avenger was completely fed up with him and burst out of his room to chase him down the hall. The whole thing was borderline comedic, and it didn't help that Amadeus didn't treat it as a serious threat, more like a pair of children playing tag. 

This, naturally, just made Salieri angrier and his general attunement to his surroundings dropped because of it.

In hindsight, he probably should have been expected that he’d eventually crash into _someone_ during an interaction like this because he wasn’t paying attention.

While Amadeus managed to run past a hallway intersection without issue, as soon as Salieri reached it, he collided hard with some poor, unaware passing Servant. They both went down in a heap with a surprised shriek from the other party.

“Oww…” Salieri grumbled as he got up on his hands and knees.

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!! I’m so sorry! A-are you okay?” a panicked female voice cried, “I should...I should have been watching where I was going…”  
  
“No, that was entirely my fault,” Salieri shook his head as he slowly climbed to his feet.

“I know...but, wait! No! I’m-I’m sorry...I would help you up but…”

“But?”

Salieri wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but a busty woman with _huge_ golden claws in place of hands wasn’t it. She was looking dejectedly at the floor and scuffing the toe of her boot back and forth.

“I-it's these stupid hands! Ohh...and me...how could I so stupid? I wasn't paying attention at all!" she lamented.

“I...I mean...I wasn’t exactly looking either, I’m sorry,” Salieri apologized, brushing off his coattails. The woman still looked quite embarrassed and managed to bring her huge clawed hands in front of her so she could knit her fingers together and tap the metal tips of her ‘thumbs' together. For their size, she was quite dexterous with them it seemed.

Salieri sighed, “You aren’t injured, are you?”

The woman whined faintly, “I...I’m okay. My chest hurts a little.”

Salieri figured it must have cushioned her fall to some degree, but he wasn’t tactless enough (like Amadeus) to ask.

“My hands...you didn’t...get cut or bruised or uh...you still have all your limbs?” she asked cautiously. 

Salieri quickly checked, “Everything seems intact. My Façade is relatively durable, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Oh. I see.” the odd woman seemed quite relieved at this, “I-I have to be careful, you know? I don’t want to...well, I’ve already caused some...damage...I'm such a klutz..."

Again she seemed embarrassed and was clicking the tips of her claws together again.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t hold you up!” she said suddenly with a bow, “I-I should get out of your way! Bye!”

With that, she took off as hastily as she could with her considerable prosthetics and bosom.

* * *

“If your description is accurate, I may have already met this Passionlip,” Salieri said.

“Huh? And you _still_ have the nerve to mistake me for BB?!”

“Meltryllis stop.”

The Alter Ego huffed indignantly again.

“You said she has one other sister?” Salieri asked.

“Kingprotea, or just Protea. You won’t see her around Chaldea though,” Meltryllis said, tossing her long hair back.

“Why?”  
  
“She wouldn’t fit in the building,” Tristan answered, “Kingprotea is probably one of, if not _the_ tallest Servants in Master’s ensemble. Master has to keep her on an island large enough for her to be comfortable but without anything serious around for her to damage.”

“Sounds lonely,” Salieri commented.

“Bunyan usually keeps her company, solidarity in being literal titans,” Meltryllis said.

“But it is a lonely existence...how sad…” Tristan added.

“Oh, don’t start,” Meltryllis rolled her eyes.

Salieri wanted to add a comment, but he heard a soft rustling to his left. Tristan seemed to have caught it too for his head whipped towards it just as a beast, an anthropomorphic panther wielding an ax, jumped out of the thicket.

“Ah, it seems our intended targets have decided to spare us the annoying task of hunting them down,” Tristan said as he, Salieri, and Meltryllis faced their attackers just as two more arrived to back-up their companion.

“Hmph, bunch of weaklings,” Meltryllis sneered.

“Tell me, Meltryllis, do you wish to dance?” Tristan asked, Salieri could have sworn that almost sounded rehearsed, like a pair of seasoned performers. The Alter Ego flashed him a sadistic smile.

“I do! I want to slice these annoying vermin to pieces!” she replied, excited.

“Avenger,” Tristan rested his fingers against the strings of his harp, “You said you are musician yourself?”

“I did.”  
  
“Then play! Play me a tune I can dance too, that I can kill too!” Meltryllis was clearly getting very worked up, “Be my maestros of murder for this bloodbath!”

“More like maestro of misery, but I digress,” Tristan grumbled, “Shall we, Avenger?”

Salieri ran his clawed fingers over the air, feeling the hum of energy from the spectral keyboard he wielded.

“Let this cacophony of destruction begin,” his Wailing Facade was howling with delight, he felt it in every inch of his body, this bloodlust, this hunger to kill, to maim.

One of the panthers snarled and raised its ax before rushing forward. Tristan skillfully played a chord on his harp and within an instant, the panther’s arm was sliced clean off. It stumbled back and Meltryllis skated forward on her bladed stilts and, doing a pirouette that was a blur of white and blue. She cut open the panther’s chest before sharply kicking it straight in the stomach, impaling it on the tip of her stilt.

“Hey! Take your friend back!” she taunted, swinging the still impaled panther towards the other two. It went flying off the blade, but the remaining panthers seemed uninterested in their grievously injured companion and dodged out of the way. It landed with a dull thud before dissolving into a wispy pile of ash.

Meltryllis laughed, lunging forward with a flurry of kicks and long sweeps of her bladed legs.

As much as Salieri wanted to throw himself into the fray and cut up his opponents with his own blade, Meltryllis’ speed and aggression didn’t exactly leave him much in the way of an opening. Still, much like Tristan, his spectral keyboard created music with literal impact, not quite in the same manner as audio razor wire but it was certainly enough to cripple their attackers while Meltryllis sliced them to ribbons.

“Come on! Come on, come on!” Meltryllis taunted, “The curtain can’t fall yet! We still haven’t reached our climax!”

As much as Salieri was enjoying his private concern, he found the battle was dragging a bit and Meltryllis was enjoying goading their opposition more than she was in killing them.

Even through the rush of music notes, Salieri heard the sound of heavy footfalls. Something large was rushing towards them...moving on all fours? A beast of some kind?

He cut off his crescendo and, ignoring Tristan’s confused shouts, rushed towards the noise. He skidded to the edge of the clearing and, using his claws, stretched out a length of spectral strings not dissimilar to a violin.

The steps were getting closer…

He raked the edge of his blade across the strings, the sounds summoning four of the white clad minions that had become attached to this form. They leveled their rifles towards the source of the noise.

“You have some nerve…” Salieri held up his clawed hand, “Being late for a performance as grand as this!”

Just as the huge beast sprung out of the thicket, Salieri clicked his fingers together and the crack of gunfire echoed throughout the forest.

The monster, which at first glance resembled a lion, was struck in the chest and sent sprawling. Meltryllis jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance of an additional enemy.

“Chimera!” Tristan called as Meltryllis quickly darted back to the Archer.

“Guess it heard the sounds of our battle,” Meltryllis noted, poised to strike as the chimera got to its feet.

The snake that was there in place of a tail reared up and hissed. There was a slight issue now; based on the direction it had come from, the chimera was squarely between Salieri and the other two Servants. The serpent head swiveled to face him and the rest of the beast did too, apparently taking more interest in the Servant who had injured it initially.

“Don’t stand there, Archer!” Salieri called, “Meltryllis!”

“Oh! For crying out-! Sorry! We’ve got our own problems!” the Alter Ego yelped. She and Tristan had become distracted by another small group of panther warriors that had ambushed them when the chimera had entered the scene.

Salieri growled under his breath, “Fine.”

The Avenger brandished his blade and arms like a flamboyant conductor and he heard the chimera let out a whine and flinch back. It looked like parts of its pelt had been slightly charred, its defense had dropped.

Salieri lunged forward, driving his Wildfire Blade into the chimera’s shoulder before whipping it out and slashing the beast’s face. Just as the chimera went to swipe at him with its giant paws, Salieri leapt back and summoned the spectral piano from earlier.

As soon as he began playing, four of the minions, wielding spears, materialized.

“Listen to my song…” Salieri slammed his claws down on the keys, “...and die!”

The four spearmen drove their weapons into the chimera’s body and vanished just as quickly as they appeared, despite the chimera flailing to try and hit the things that had just stabbed it. Salieri wasn’t just how injured it was, but it truly seemed to have just enraged the beast further.

The chimera roared and threw itself as Salieri, just barely missing him. Salieri braced for another strike but instead, the Chimera swerved around, opened its mouth, and belched out a cloud of foul-smelling, purple gas.

Salieri’s eyes and lungs burned... _poison_!

Bad. This was very bad. He staggered back, swiping the blade across the chimera’s face. He began to gag and his strength was rapidly depleting, but he had enough to summon two more minions, this time wielding rapiers, to hold off the chimera as he attempted to put distance between the two of them.

Where were his companions? He could hear Tristan’s harp but his vision was becoming hazy, breathing painful. A curse escaped him as he dropped onto one knee, using his Wildfire Blade to support his weight.

How embarrassing...to be defeated by a mere chimera...on his first mission too…

Another growl made him look up. A second chimera with white fur was approaching him and he was cornered, completely separated from his companions and-.

“Salieri! Meltryllis! Tristan!” a familiar voice cut across the battlefield.

“Master!” Tristan cried in relief.

Abruptly, the chimera Salieri had injured was yanked away with a shocked yowl. A towering knight in warped black armor with a fiercely glowing red visor had the chimera by the tail. The armor was preventing the snake tail from biting at the knight’s wrist.

“Yoo hoo! Over here!” a female voice called. The owner was a petite woman clad in a vibrant red and gold dress, a pink scarf rippled around her as she brandished a faintly glowing pink katana. The white chimera turned to face her while the knight gripped the other chimera’s tail tight and hurled the beast into a nearby tree, practically snapping it in two. The tree that is, although the chimera probably wasn’t fairing much better either.

Salieri was suddenly aware of a presence to his right and he jerked away reflexively.

“Don’t panic, we’re here to help,” a kindly male voice said, “Avenger Salieri, correct?”  
  
Salieri nodded as he looked at the youthful green-haired young man at his side.

“I’m David, Archer, nice to meet you,” he introduced himself, giving him a kindly smile, “Let me give you a pick-me-up.”

He brandished the shepherds crook he was carrying, the staff glowing a pale green briefly and the small bell on the inside of the hook jingling softly.

Within seconds, the pain of the poison dissipated and any injuries, regardless of how small, were mended.

“Much appreciated,” he said, accepting the hand that was offered and got to his feet.

“Thanks David!” Meltryllis called from where she and Tristan were finishing off the last of the panther warriors.

“Group healing,” David said with a wink, “Feeling up to finishing this fight?”

“I certainly am now, I believe some payback is needed,” Salieri replied, tightening his grip on his blade. 

“Great, go give Suzuka Gozen some back-up, I’ll help Lancelot,” David nodded and ran over to aid the knight who, quite frankly, didn’t look like he needed help while he was beating the chimera into the dirt.

Despite having no recognition of the name, Salieri deduced that Suzuka Gozen was the red clad woman dancing around the white chimera with her dazzling golden swords striking the beast intertwined with her fury of blows.

“Oh, hey, hey! About time you like, got back into the swing of things!” she exclaimed, “C’mon! Don’t make me do all the work, that's not a good look for a gentleman! Get in there! I saved some for you!”

“Gee, thanks…” Salieri muttered, narrowly dodging the chimera’s serpent tail. Fed up with this fight, and with these chimeras in general, Salieri sliced the serpent’s head off. The chimera yowled in pain, frantically clawing at the two Servants attacking it.

Quite frankly, Salieri was now getting tired of having such good hearing, because now he could hear something large approaching from...overhead? Oh, what _now_? He looked up.

“Oh no! Get out of the way!” Suzuka Gozen grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the chimera just as something hit it and exploded. Again, and again, and again. There was also inane screaming and what sounded like furiously rapid gunfire. The ground was torn up, as were both chimeras and any remaining panther warriors.

It was over in seconds, the dust settling on the battlefield. Every opponent had been utterly annihilated, quickly dissolving into ash.

After a moment, seemingly from somewhere overhead, the strange knight landed on the ground and calmly walked over to the group.

“Phew! Geeze, a little heads-up next time, Lance!” Suzuka Gozen chided, “You could’ve turned us into Swiss cheese!”

The knight just growled in response. Not really...in a hostile fashion, just as a way to acknowledge her comment.

David and Ritsuka popped out from behind and tree and Tristan and Meltryllis emerged from not too far away, the latter duo looking somewhat rattled.

“Good job, everyone!” Ritsuka praised. He gave Tristan, Meltryllis, and Salieri an apologetic look, “Sorry guys, Chimeras aren’t too common in this area, I didn’t know you’d get attacked.”

“It’s not your fault, Master” Tristan said.

“Ooh! Besides, we got some primo loot outta this!” Suzuka Gozen said cheerfully as she picked up something from the crater where one of the chimeras had been. It was a large, curled dark blue claw that was faintly iridescent. Ritsuka’s eyes immediately lit up.

“Great, a Chaos Claw! I needed one of those.”

“You just hoard mats, Master. You honestly say that about _every_ rare material,” Meltryllis commented. Ritsuka coughed and looked away sheepishly.

“Y-you never know when someone will need it!”

“That’s what all hoarders say,” the Alter Ego countered putting her hands on her hips.

“Perhaps we should consider having this conversation back at Chaldea?” Tristan suggested, running his fingers through his red hair like he was trying to get debris out of it or something, but it was as pristine as it had been when Salieri had run into him intially. Everyone unanimously agreed.

“How was your first mission, Avenger?” Ritsuka asked as they walked back to the entrance of the forest.

“It was...it was alright,” Salieri admitted.

Ritsuka frowned, “Was it because of the chimeras?”

“You looked like you were having fun,” Meltryllis chimed in with a mischievous smirk.

“Maybe I was, what of it?”

“Ooh, fun? Were you dancing again, Meltryllis?” Suzuka Gozen asked as she drifted back from where she had been walking with David and Lancelot up front to join the latter’s conversation, “I know you’re a huge Tristan fangirl.”

“I might be, but with Avenger it felt like I had a full orchestra! Like a true performance!” Meltryllis beamed.

“It was only two instruments though…” Salieri said. Tristan gently nudged him with his elbow and shook his head. Meltryllis was still preening and obviously hadn't heard Salieri’s comment.

“We could hear the music all the way at our battle site,” David added, “I must admit, it was quite impressive. Don’t you agree, Lancelot?”

The knight growled again but Salieri still had no idea what it meant.

“I’m glad! Good team coordination is important!” Ritsuka seemed genuinely delighted by this.

“Ooh! Ooh! Master~!” Susuka Gozen grabbed Salieri’s arm, “I wanna go on a mission with DJ Avenger next! Pleeeeeeeease?”

“Okay, okay!” Ritsuka laughed.

“Hmm, are you hiding a handsome face under that mask there?” Suzuka Gozen asked, less than gently poking Salieri’s cheek, “Or am I gonna have to swipe left on this one?"

“I...what?"  
  
“Nah, I bet you’re a total hunk just like Sir Lancelot!”

“But...you literally _can’t_ see Berserker’s face…?” David sounded puzzled.

“Well, Saber Lancelot is fine, surely his Berseker form is just as fine too!”

“You’re an optimistic one, Lady Suzuka,” Tirstan sighed. Lancelot didn’t say anything.

“Why don’t you take your mask off, Salieri?” Ritsuka suggested.

“Why?” Salieri didn’t want to. It had less to do with Suzuka gawking at him (which she was doing anyway) and more to do with how much he hated his human self and just being outside of his Wailing Façade in general.

“Uh, well, for one Suzuka’s not going to stop bugging you if you don’t,” Ritsuka said with an awkward laugh, “And were out of combat, so you can relax.”

Salieri didn’t want to, he _really_ didn’t want to, but he also didn’t want to suffer Suzuka Gozen’s gawking any further.

“ _Fine_ ,” he grumbled, dismissing his Façade. He clenched his jaw, it didn’t hurt, but the purveying sense of _wrong_ invaded his being once more and made his stomach churn and his chest hurt.

“Happy now?”

“Wow!” Suzuka piped up, “Glad I swiped right!”

Salieri’s face burned as Suzuka hung off his arm. The others laughed as his expense, which bothered him more than he cared to admit.

 _Yes, laugh at me, in this weak form, in this weak human body..._ he thought bitterly.

Ritsuka at least seemed to have notice how his expression had clouded over and gave him a concerned look.

Salieri forced a smile on his face and gave him a small nod, _I’m fine, we’ll leave it at that._ Ritsuka didn’t seem to buy it but he didn’t press it either, mostly because Suzuka released the Avenger to go hound their Master for ‘head pats’.

The rayshift back to Chaldea was decidedly less uncomfortable than the first time. Ritsuka gave all the Servants present praise again for a job well done before they started to go their seperate ways. Suzuka was hanging off Ritsuka’s arm as he walked out.

Salieri went to leave himself but…

“Avenger, wait a second,” Meltryllis stopped him.

“What is it?”

Meltryllis sighed, “Look, I know you Avengers are all balls of barely suppressed rage-.”

“Gee, thanks…”  
  
“Don’t interrupt,” she scolded, “But that’s just one aspect of your class. You’re also just all...so sad.”

“I’m not looking for pity, Meltryllis.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. There’s always something depressing about you sorts,” she explained, “It’s always tied with whatever made you a spirit of vengeance in the first place.”

“I…” Salieri hesitated. She did have a point but that was related to something he didn’t want to address nor acknowledge.

Meltryllis sighed, “Look, I couldn’t possibly begin to understand your motivations, but I know sadness, like the kind my Tristan bears so…”

“So what?”

“The other Avengers are, well, still balls of barely contained fury, but they're balls of barely contained fury with more acceptance of themselves. So be careful.”  
  
Salieri was quite for a moment, mulling over Meltryllis’ advice.

“Oh, and one other thing. You said you’ve met BB, haven’t you?”

“Yes?”  
  
“Do yourself a favor and stay away from her. She’s not called a Moon _Cancer_ for nothing.”

“You’re not the first one to tell me that.”

“Well, whoever did is smart,” Meltryllis noted, “Anyway, take care of yourself Avenger. It would be a shame if we couldn’t perform together in battle again.”

 _My music is garbage, absolute trash, not worthy of acknowledgment,_ his conscious hissed, _She’s deluded if she thinks you’re worth anything!_

“R-right…” Salieri’s mouth had gone dry. He felt cold and uncomfortable. Meltryllis narrowed her eyes, like she had seen his discomfort manifest.

“Well, see you later,” she said instead, turning and skating off to be with Tristan and the two of them departed.

“Avenger?”

Salieri started at the sound of Master’s voice. Ritsuka was standing there holding an armload of materials he had apparently forgotten during his abduction by Suzuka Gozen.

“You, uh, you okay? You look pretty tired…”

The voice was there, but it was more a faint echo now. He pushed his fingers through his hair and noticed a faint tremor in his hands.

“Perhaps...maybe I overdid it.”

“Everyone has their limits,” Ritsuka said with a sympathetic smile, “The rest of the teams have already gone off to rest, while don’t you go have a nap too? David likes to have tea too, if that’s of interest.”

“Y-yes…” Salieri shook his head, starting to feel to beginnings of what felt like a headache. Perhaps a nap wouldn’t run amiss, maybe a hot bath too...

“I know I said it already but you really did great today, Avenger.”

Salieri sighed and gave Ritsuka a tired smile, “Thank you, Master.”

Without another word, Salieri turned and left. As he trudged back to his room, he could feel all sorts of various aches and pains making themselves known, especially in his joints and neck. Grand. As much as his Wailing Façade had delighted in combat, Salieri wasn’t too keen on the discomfort that followed a particularly strenuous battle.

Either that or his age was showing. Salieri snorted at the thought, reaching for his bedroom door.

“World Renowned Musician Musician Antonio Salieri!” a commanding voice boomed down the hallway, making Salieri jump like a startled cat.

“Y-yes?” he managed to get out in his bewilderment.

_Oh come on, "World Renowned"? What kind of joke is this?_

When he turned to face the person who addressed him, he found himself face to face with a small woman with long purple hair and similar colored eyes. She was clad in sparkling gold jewelry and delicate white silks that complimented her dark skin. What stood out the most, however, were the pair of delicate pointed ears atop her head that were twitching ever so slightly.

“You _are_ Antonio Salieri, correct?” she repeated a bit more firmly now. 

“I thought I answered that,” Salieri’s head was starting to hurt more, “Who are you? What do you want?”

“What impudence!” the woman shouted, “You dare speak to a great pharaoh like that?!”

_Pharaoh...what?_

“Huh?”

“Fine, I’ll forgive your ignorance this one time,” she said, tapping the end of her staff against the floor, “I am Queen Nitocris, pharaoh of Egypt during the Sixth Dynasty and you’d do best to remember that and show me the respect I deserve!”

How exactly was Salieri supposed to respond to _that_?

The woman was staring at him expectantly.

“Uh...nice...nice to meet you?”

Nitocris narrowed her eyes, “Hmm, not usually an acceptable greeting but obviously you’re blinded by my godly presence, so I’ll forgive you.”

 _Yeah, sure...that’s exactly what it is..._ Salieri thought.

“A-anyway, what was it you want- er, what can I help you with, your majesty?” Salieri said, trying to remember his manners best he could in this less-than-mundane-situation.

“The great musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sings your praises, so I have come to make a request of you!” Nitocris smiled confidently.

“Is that so.”

“Being the talented musician you are…”

That is _completely_ up for debate.

“I came to request your talents be put to use to honor the great pharaohs in Chaldea!”

“Wait a minute…” Salieri held up his hand, “If you’ve spoken to Amadeus, surely you’re aware that his music is...well, clearly superior to mine. Why not ask him?”

"I...I..." Nitocris pressed her lips into a hard line, "B-because I did! And he had the gall to believe it was an honor for _us_ to be listening to _him!_ Not for him to be performing for the great God Kings of Egypt! Can you believe that?!"

That sounded about right for Amadeus...rely on him to have enough of an ego to challenge people who were bordering on being literal gods. Wasn't that basically everyone in Chaldea though?

“A-And then he had the nerve to play this...this utterly _vulgar_ song!”

 _Oh no,_ “What was the song?”

“It was some foreign piece...Leck...Le...eck..erm, mir den…”

“Don’t…you don’t have to say any more. I know what it is you’re talking about,” Salieri cut her off, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yes! D-do you know what that song is about!?”

“I do, yes,” because of _course_ Amadeus would play that delightful piece of garbage, for some stupid petty reason no doubt.

“S-so you see the problem!” Nitocris’ voice had gone up an octave, “King Ozymandias and King Iskandar thought it was amusing and...I don’t think Cleopatra was actually paying attention...b-but it’s incomprehensible that _anyone_ would think that piece was appropriate to play in any setting!”

Salieri felt bad for her, quite frankly. Especially if her fellow kings and queens hadn’t been nearly as offended by it.

“I-I have come to you in hopes you would be willing to give us a pure, clean performance,” Nitocris said, seemingly have regained some of her composure.

“I...don’t know how ‘pure’ the performance would be, aesthetically speaking, taking my class into account…” 

“P-please Master Salieri?” Nitocris asked, ears drooping as her head bowed forward slightly, “I must make up for my previous blunders or else Pharaoh Ozymandias will continue to regard me as an incompetent ruler.”

Rather abruptly, the somewhat domineering woman who had been shouting at him mere minutes ago was gone and a modest, polite, meek one stood in her place, fidgeting with her scepter.

Salieri exhaled through his nose, “The only catch being I’m performing for the pharaohs?”

“Yes, and it would be a great honor for you, as I said.”

 _I’m probably not getting paid for this either,_ Salieri thought, but there was a faint glimmer of a chance, something he could hold over Amadeus’ head for once. A chance for him to be praised for music...that wasn’t _his_ …

His head throbbed dully.

“Very well,” Salieri said with a sigh, “I accept your offer, Queen Nitocris.”

Her pointed ears perked up and her eyes sparkled.

“R-really? I mean- yes! Of course you do!” Nitocris reverted back to her queenly mannerisms, sort of. Her giddiness was more reflective of a small child getting a gift than a noblewoman.

“I shall schedule an event for all the pharaohs! I will ensure this one will go above and beyond the previous one! Await my summons, Master Salieri!” she commanded, “And prepare for your most important concert yet!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering, the song Nitocris is attempting to remember the name of is "Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber" which my friend and I have aptly shorted to "The Ass Licking Song", and yes, that's actually something Mozart wrote.


	4. A Stressful Interlude

“What's this lovely cadence I hear? I had to follow the sound and low and behold, a rarely sighted Salieri! What a surprise seeing you outside of your room!"

Salieri’s eye twitched. The _last_ thing he'd wanted to do was go to the music room to practice, but he'd been unable to bring himself to ask Master for a personal piano. It seemed...to be too much of a request. He'd felt awkward enough asking for something as meager as _paper_ , after all. 

It hadn’t taken much for him to remember his...the _real_ Salieri’s music, nor did it take much for him to transcribe it to paper.

“This is the only publicly available piano in Chaldea, I’m relatively certain,” he replied stiffly, flipping a page with one hand while carefully tapping the keys accordingly to match the notes on the paper.

“So what brought this about? Get nipped by one of the muses and had to put it down?” Amadeus asked, propping his chin up on his hand, “Bored? Desperate to spend time with your favorite musician?”

“Very funny,” Salieri pushed his silver bangs out of his face, “My combat skills aren’t the only things that are rusty, so I found myself in need of some...musical refreshment, and last I checked, I had no intention of looking for _you_." 

“New pieces or…?”

“Old ones,” Salieri replied, “Queen Nitocris requested an audience, so I’m preparing a little recital for her and the other pharaohs.”

“Oh, that brat?"

Salieri frowned, “It is totally hypocritical to call someone offended by your vulgar sense of a humor a 'brat'."  
  
“Bah, she’s just too sensitive,” Amadeus rolled his eyes and waved his hand, “Everyone else thought it was hilarious!”

“Uh-huh. Is that why they haven’t invited you back then?”

“They weren’t forthcoming with compensation either,” the Caster shrugged.

“Did it ever occur to you maybe just...to do something out of the kindness of your heart?”

Amadeus laughed, “Kindness? Always the generous sort, weren’t you? Besides, talent like mine doesn’t come cheap.”

“You’re right,” Salieri double checked one of the music sheets, “Were you to do something totally not self-centered, I’d have to ask the Caster of Okeanos if she’s seen any of her darling pigs flying around.”

Amadeus pouted, “That’s just mean, Antonio! And to think, I’m getting lectured on the intricacies of generosity by an Avenger class.”

“Just because I’m an Avenger doesn’t mean I’m incapable of expressing generosity,” Salieri glared at Amadeus.

The response was a shrug, “I don’t know, all the lovely Avenger types I’ve met haven’t been terribly forthcoming.”

“That’s because you’re an ass.”

Amadeus snorted, then laughed, “I won’t deny it! Still though, it’s good to see you back in your element, old friend.”

Salieri wanted to snap at him that they _weren’t_ friends, but was fully aware Amadeus would just continuously hound him for the duration of the afternoon anyway. Not desirable, he had work to do, after all.

His Façade was clawing at his conscious, reminding him the usual things that made him grind his teeth. He had been working on a headache for the last few hours because he didn’t have anything to take his frustration out on. While Amadeus, the source of much of his anger, was standing _right there_ , he had to keep reminding himself that Master would muzzle him if he gave into his impulses. So he just focused on playing the piano angrily instead.

“We should have a little music party, don’t you think?” Amadeus continued, unperturbed, “I bet you’ll love my new compositions- no you’ve always been a big fan of mine, so of course you’ll love them!”  
  
Nevermind the suggestion that Salieri would just mindlessly worship whatever Amadeus created was _beyond_ insulting, nevermind the fact his Facade was _seething_ at the suggestion, but...there was a shard of Salieri, small as it was, that was nonetheless piqued by the suggestion Amadeus had created new compositions during his time at Chaldea.

"New...compositions..." he muttered.

“Mmhmm…” Amadeus gave him a smug look, “Truly my music is the forbidden apple to tempt you, no?”

“Which makes you the snake, does it not?” Salieri noted dryly.

“Yes, which makes you the curious Eve, naturally,” Amadeus wasn’t supposed to have agreed with that comparison but whatever…

“Don’t you mean Adam?”  
  
“Eve was the one first tempted,” Amadeus said, that annoyingly smug look not leaving his face.

_Don’t engage him further, drop the conversation NOW_ , the rational part of him, small as it was, shouted. It was drowning out his Façade thankfully...for now.

“Think whatever you want then,” he opted to say instead of losing his temper and skewering the Caster in the eye with his pen.

He told himself that would be a waste of a perfectly good pen.

“Aw,” Amadeus pouted again, “But still, you want to hear them, right?”

“Y-yes,” Salieri said before he could stop himself. Amadeus beamed.

“As Marie would say, c'est magnifique! I’ll have to bright snacks and drinks, we’ll be going over our new works for _hours_!”

_Hours of torment, no doubt_ , Salieri thought, but he would be lying if some part of him wasn’t enticed by the offer. That part of him, deeply buried under piles of hatred and resentment, still deeply admired Amadeus as the talented, godly musician he was. Truly a man of unparalleled skill. To an extent, he was starting to understand all those Greek heroes who had so deeply loved their gods only to be abandoned by them in the end.

Amadeus...didn’t need to know that though.

“Well, as much as I want to keep chatting, I promised Elisabeth and Emperor Nero I’d back up their little concert.”

“Because they’re paying you?” Salieri asked before he could stop himself.

“Nero was indeed quite forthcoming with compensation, _and_ she’s also been quite forthcoming with the compliments,” Amadeus grinned, “But it’ll be quite the honor to play for two lovely young maidens, don’t you think?”

“The gender of my audience has never been something I considered relevant.”

Amadeus shrugged again, “Whatever.”

“Have fun with your little concert then,” Salieri grumbled.

“You too!”

The Caster made his way over to the now repaired doors and was about to open them when someone beat him too it.

“C-Caster!” a voice squeaked. A suspiciously _familiar_ voice, which was enough for Salieri to look up.

“Ah, Fraulein Lip! How nice it is to see you!” Amadeus said, cheerfully.

“Y-yes, y-you too…”

“What brings you here on this fine day? Was it rumors of alluring music, the siren song in the halls of Chaldea?”

“Amadeus…” Salieri growled.

“N-no? Well...kind of...I heard Mister Salieri was here from Melt.”

“Oh, you hear that, Antonio? You’ve accumulated a little fanclub!” Amadeus called, voice mirthful. 

“What?! No! I mean, that’s not what I...oh dear…” Passionlip looked away, obviously flustered by Amadeus’ teasing

“I won’t hold up a budding relationship between artist and admirer!” Amadeus waved, “Farewell Salieri! Farewell to you and your handsome bosoms, Passionlip!”  
  
“ _E-excuse me_?"

Salieri slapped his hand against his forehead but Amadeus had already departed, so he didn’t have a chance to chide him for being inappropriate (as usual) with poor Passionlip.

“Did you need something, Passionlip?” he asked politely as he returned his attention to the piano.

“I...I wanted to apologize for the other day...when I ran into you…” she said meekly.

Salieri sighed, “I told you, that was my own fault. Don’t worry about it.”

After a moment of silence, the sound of Passionlip’s modest heels clunked across the floor as she approached the piano. The fact her gigantic breasts were now directly in Salieri’s field of view right now _really_ wasn’t helping his focus as she hovered there for a minute.

“Do you...need help...with something?” he asked, trying desperately not to stare. It was starting to rival Meltryllis’ less-than-modest choice of clothing. Was that just an Alter Ego thing or was that based on the sister's personal choices?

“Oh no! I uh...I just, uh...wanted to watch you play.”

Salieri looked up at Meltryllis’ sister. She immediately avoided eye contact and looked at the floor.

“Watch?”

“Is that...weird?” Passionlip asked quietly. It took Salieri a minute but he noticed that when she asked, her eyes returned to the piano keys and his hands. Ah. He understood her request now. Passionlip herself had no hope of playing the piano, not even coming close to even being able to fit her massive claws on the keyboard. It was more likely she’d probably end up leveling it.

“Pull up a chair,” Salieri gestured to the open spot next to him. Passionlip brightened and trotted over to the spot Salieri had indicated but instead of using a chair, she folded her gigantic claws under her and seated herself atop them. Salieri had to admit, he was impressed with her utilization of them in such a manner.

Initially, Salieri felt extremely uncomfortable having an audience already, considering he, one, hadn’t had one in an extremely long time and two, he was extremely self-conscious about his- _Antonio Salieri’s_ music.

_I am Antonio Salieri_ , he forced himself to think, but once more, his Façade was taunting him over everything else.

He'd become distracted by _that_ voice again, unable to think of anything about else, and the tremor in his hand made his movements falter and accidentally hit several wrong keys at once.

His chest got tight and his breathing became erratic. _No...no no no no...that wasn’t right...nothing was right...what was he even doing_? He grabbed his face, fingers digging into his skin.

_How dare he have the nerve to pretend be-?!_  
  
“Salieri?” Passionlip spoke up. He sucked in a breath. Right...he wasn’t alone.

“S-sorry,” he hissed out, shaking his head.

“A-are you okay?” Passionlip asked worriedly, “You looked like you were about to get sick…”

The Avenger laughed dryly, “Must be stage fright.”

“Are you afraid to play in front of others?” she inquired, then looked dejectedly at the floor, “I can leave, if you want.”

“There’s no point,” Salieri said, probably sounding a little harsher than he intended to, “What good would pathetic stage fright do me!? I...I can’t...I need to be perfect…”  
  
His breathing was ragged and pained as he stood up, scrubbing his hands over his face, “What will Nitocris and the others say if I fail?!”

“Mister Salieri…” Passionlip unseated herself from her hands and cautiously approached him like he was an agitated animal, “Um, pardon me for asking...but what does Queen Nitocris have to do with anything?”

Taking a deep breath, Salieri turned back to the Alter Ego, “She requested a private concert for her and the other pharaohs and, in my arrogance, I accepted it.”

Passionlip gave him a puzzled look, “Why was it in arrogance?”

“Because I have no hope of ever being on the same level as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!” Salieri sank back down onto the bench. He glared at the music sheets like they were the embodiment of his hated rival, and he had to strongly resist the urge to tear them to pieces. 

“Well...does that matter?”

“Of course it does!”

Passionlip flinched, Salieri just slumped over further and put his head in his hands.

The silence that settled was smothering, save for the awkward shuffling of Passionlip’s heels.

“Did...did Nitocris say she expected you to be as good as Mister Mozart?”

“Eh?”

“She just asked you to play, right?” Passionlip smiled gently, “If she expected you to play like Mister Mozart, she would have said s-.”

Salieri cut her off with a sharp laugh, “They _never_ directly _say_ it! It’s just an unspoken curse!”

“Okay…” Passionlip said weakly, “But, she still thought you were probably good enough to ask, right?”

Salieri paused again, “I...I guess…”

“Then just play your best! If you make people happy, who really cares how it compares to others?” Passionlip said, “I-I know it’s hard to be accepted but sometimes you just have to give it a shot, you know?”

The Alter Ego smiled thoughtfully, “I-I made mistakes all the time when I first came to Chaldea, but...Master was always supportive when others would just bully me for being a big klutz. Saying Melt didn’t get to them first, that is…”

“Not to be rude but is there a point to this?”

“Maybe...if you’re going to make mistakes, it’s good to do it with friends?”

Salieri wasn’t big on motivational nonsense but Passionlip at least seemed to be _trying_ , and to an extent, her argument did make sense. That aside, since when did Salieri have _friends_ here?

“S-so it’s okay to mess up now! You can fix your mistakes and not worry about being embarrassed!” she said brightly, "I-I'm not...the smartest Servant...and I don't know a lot about music...but I do know now it's okay to mess up once in a while."

Salieri heard his teeth click together as he clenched his jaw. Arguably it would have been a better alternative if he could just go to some random location in the middle of nowhere and beat up some enemy, but alas, he didn’t have that option right now.

“I can still leave, if you want…” Passionlip said, hanging her head.

Salieri exhaled slowly, the tremor in his hands subsiding slightly, “No it’s fine. I just...I need a moment, is all.”

Passionlip sat down on her folded hands again and waited patiently for Salieri to readjust his posture in front of the piano. 

“Better?”

Salieri inhaled through his nose, “Yes.”

“Okay, so...let’s try again!” she said encouragingly, “Everything sounded good to me, and I’d really like to hear the rest…”

The Avenger smiled as he readjusted his music sheets, “From the top then…”

* * *

Salieri spent most of the next few days bordering on becoming physically ill from anxiety. The brief interludes where Ritsuka would fetch him for missions were the only relief, if for a few hours.

Were he still human, such a state would have rendered him relatively useless, exhausted and probably horrendously sick and...then probably dead. Alas, being a Servant meant having considerably more durability, so sleep wasn’t required and neither was eating. Besides, even if he tried to eat anything, he wasn’t able to keep it down. This didn’t go unnoticed by his now semi-regular ‘meal buddies’ (Tamamo Cat’s wording, not his.)

“Antonio, are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Marie asked, brows furrowed in concern.

Salieri awkwardly used his napkin to hide the partially chewed wad of toast he’d spat back out after his failed attempt to swallow it.

“I would suggest going to see the nurse but Nightingale might trap you in the medical office for a week,” Sanson said.

“Here, try this,” a glass of some clear, bubbling liquid slid over to him, Amadeus was screwing the cap back on a bottle. “If your stomach is bothering you, I’d recommend trying to stay hydrated at the very least.”

Under any other circumstance, Salieri would have thrown the glass in his face, but he was still too out of it to care. He tightened his hands around the cool glass and took a tentative sip. It had no flavor, but the soft fizzy feeling felt surprisingly good going down his raw throat.

“Antonio,” Marie pressed, she still appeared to be expecting a response.

“I-I’m sorry,” he leaned his head against the palm of his hand.

“What are you so stressed out about anyway?” Amadeus asked in his usual tactless fashion.

“Wow, could you have asked that in _any_ ruder a way?” Sanson asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Look, among other things, stress and overwork is something I happen to know about rather intimately.”  
  
“Like everyone else in the history of anything ever.”

Marie ignored the two of them going at it like a pair of petty teenage girls and looked back at Salieri, “What have you been doing to yourself, Antonio? Does Master know?”

“My bet’s on that little show he’s putting on for Nitocris and her beloved pharaohs” Amadeus sounded unimpressed as he pushed his food around his plate.

Marie blinked, “Oh? I haven’t heard anything about that, and I was having tea with Queen Cleopatra yesterday.”

Salieri wanted to be angry with Amadeus but...the information, alas, wasn’t false nor was it something Nitocris had established was supposed to be a huge secret. He was also exhausted, to the point even his Façade had found some obscure, dark corner of his mind to curl up in.

“Yes. That’s right,” he gingerly rubbed his forehead with his fingertips.

“That sounds exciting but…” Marie had worry written all over his face, “Are you really alright with that, Antonio?”  
  
“Yes,” he said a bit too quickly. “I accepted Queen Nitocris’ very generous offer and I don’t intend to let her down.”  
  
“That’s...very considerate of you...but that doesn’t mean you should overwork yourself,” Marie said gently.

Amadeus snorted, “Especially not for them, whiny bunch of entitled brats...”

“ _Wolfgang_!” Marie chided.

“What? Tell me I’m wrong!”

“No, it’s _you_ !” Salieri blurted out, he didn’t quite have a chance to reign his temper back in. Everyone _but_ Amadeus seemed startled by his comment.

“Eh, it’s part of my charm,” Amadeus said smugly.

“Keep telling yourself that, Amadeus,” Sanson said dryly.

“I’d be inclined to disagree but you already know about I feel about your...less than decent behavior,” Marie scowled. 

Most people would have just surrendered to the criticism but Amadeus wasn’t _most_ people, so he just grinned in response. Salieri couldn’t suppress an eye roll.

“You could just give Antonio your support,” Marie suggested, “If he’s anxious, giving support is the best thing you can do.”  
  
“The best support would be sparing him this suffering! God, why waste your talent on _them_?” Amadeus seemed genuinely annoyed, “They’re not paying you right? Or any kind of compensation for that matter?”

“I told you,” Salieri growled, “I’m doing it as a kind gesture. For free.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with th-,” Marie started but Amadeus cut her off.

“Oh _come on_ , these people have untold amounts of wealth, the King of Heroes has access to a whole treasury!” the Caster was getting rather worked up, “What, would it cramp their style or something to toss actual artists some compensation?”

“That’s the hill you’re going to die on?” Salieri challenged, “Did you ever consider that attitude of yours is the reason was the reason you managed to accumulate so many enemies? Or that your insatiable greed and need for vice was what crippled you financially before you _died_ ?”  
  
“I’m not in that time anymore, I think I’m allowed to indulge as freely as I want now,” Amadeus was totally unbothered by Salieri’s comments.

“You’re as insufferable as you were in life."

“Oh, come on, you wouldn’t have remained friends with me were that the worst of my traits.”

Sanson and Marie exchanged dubious looks.

“We are _not_ friends.”  
  
Amadeus’ expression dropped very suddenly, he was obviously taken aback by Salieri very bluntly saying that directly to his face. All this time, cursing his name, trying to kill him, and just generally being hostile towards him, had it really never occurred to him Salieri, that _this_ Salieri, hated him with every fiber of his being? Even Marie and Sanson, who obviously weren’t as dense, seemed shocked.

Just as abruptly, Amadeus laughed, but it sounded forced, pained, “R-right. You always did get crotchety when you were tired.”

Salieri could feel his Façade stirring from its slumber, agitated by the direction this conversation was taking. 

“I bet if you asked they’d pay you, I’m sure,” ah, back on _that_ again. Salieri was still immensely annoyed though.

“Amadeus, uh, maybe you should stop talking?” Sanson said, not really so much as a suggestion so much as it was an order.

“Maybe we should continue talking when you’ve had something to eat?” Amadeus carried on, “Nurse Nightingale is always going on about low blood sugar-.”  
  
“Amadeus, you should _really_ stop talking,” it was Marie’s turn to try and put an end to this discussion.

“What? Why? It’s fine! It’s fine! Everything is fine!” Amadeus tried to argue, “I-I’m just giving a fr- f-fellow composer advice.”

“You really _should_ stop,” Marie was almost pleading now.

“What? Obviously anyone who’s not me is going to need additional advice-.”  
  
“Enough!!” Salieri roared as he grabbed his plate and lobbed it at the Caster.

It was a bad throw, Amadeus narrowly dodged it and the plate went sailing over to the table directly adjacent to them where it hit a blonde female Servant instead. She let out a surprised squeal, Marie uttered a noise that was bordering on one of horror, and Sanson dropped his silverware on the table with a resounding clatter.

“Jeanne, Ça va?!” Marie cried, distraught. 

“Oh dear, yes I’m quite alright,” the Servant replied, turning and smiling at the young queen.

“I was...I wasn’t aiming at you…” Salieri croaked. He half expected some wise-ass comment from Amadeus but the Caster had remained ducked under the table and didn’t appear to intend get up any time soon.

“Quite a mess though…” she said, working some of the eggs out of her long braid. The two Servants sitting at the table, a pale gaunt man with long black hair and a woman...man...person in a purple hat had recovered from the initial surprise and were now giving him dirty looks.

“Antonio!” Marie turned on him, “Apologize to Jeanne!”

“Wh-?” Salieri felt like a child being scolded by his enraged mother, that and this interaction was beginning to draw the attention of other passing Servants, who were starting to gawk.

“No, no Marie it’s quite alright. I’m not hurt or anything,” the woman named Jeanne tried to reassure the practically fuming young queen. Obviously Salieri was missing some vital piece of information here, not that not knowing who this ‘Jeanne’ person was made accidentally hitting her with a plate any better.

“I’m sorry…” he said meekly, embarrassed now by Marie’s chiding. The eyes of all the Servants were boring into his skin and he desperately wanted to run, but it felt like his legs were locked in place.

_You wanted attention, did you not?_

_No. No not like this...not again..._ Salieri started to panic, heart racing, _I don’t want attention like this! Leave me alone!_

Salieri didn’t bolt like a panicked animal, which was probably what should have happened considering his growing stress. Instead he stiffly climbed off the table bench and started to stagger towards the exit.

_Need...need to get out...need to leave…_ he felt like he was going to get sick again. He thought he could hear someone calling... _was that Marie? That Jeanne woman?_  
_No, it didn’t matter...no...need to leave…_

Due to the anxiety and his desperation to get out, his sense of his surroundings plummeted and he ended up walking face first into a mass of dark blue fabric that smelled vaguely of rotten seafood. The hellish odor was enough to snap him out of his trance and look up.

What he was greeted with...well, he wasn’t entire sure, to be honest. He was partially sure it was human, but it was sporting an unnaturally large pair of bulging, frog-like, bloodshot eyes...and the smell was starting to affect him more than his stress ever had at this point.

“You…” the Servant rasped, “You...you…”

His sweaty, gray-skinned hands were shaking.

Salieri didn’t have a chance to ask what the Servant wanted, because abruptly he reared back and screamed “HOW DARE YOU SULLY THE VISAGE OF THE HOLY MAIDEN!!”

Alright, _not_ the response Salieri was expecting.

“Holy maiden?” he asked dumbly. This just seemed to raise the ire of the bizarre Servant even more.

“YOU DARE FEIGN IGNORANCE?!” the Servant wheezed, spraying spittle at the Avenger, “YOU SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR SUCH-!”

“Get out of my way,” Salieri interrupted.

The Servant seemed momentarily stunned by Salieri’s response.

“YOU-!”  
  
“I said,” Salieri growled, “Get out of my way.”  
  
“N-no!” the Servant spluttered, “I will not allow such behavior around-!”  
  
“Get.”

Black fog engulfed Salieri’s form, wrapping him in the familiar comfort of his Wailing Façade.

“Out,” he raised one clawed hand, “Of.”

The Servant went to say something but was cut off as the Avenger grabbed a hold of his face, eyes still bulging between Salieri’s fingers, “My.”

Claws digging in hard, Salieri whipped around, almost effortlessly, picking up the Servant by his _face_ , “Way!!”

The last part came out as a ragged shout as he hurled the frog-eyed man across the room. Servant scrambled to get out of the way as the flailing blue and purple mass crashed into one of the many cafeteria tables.

With that, Salieri turned and stalked out, ignoring the frantic and confused shouts behind him.

He would most likely get in trouble with Master for losing his temper, but be _damned_ if that didn’t feel good.

“Oooh! That was quite the show you put on Mister Avenger!” a female voice piped up seemingly from nowhere. No one had followed him out of the lunch hall, so Salieri didn’t have a great idea of where the person had come from. Not that it mattered.

“Glad to know you enjoyed the show,” he answered dismissively.

He heard the soft patter of shoes trot up next to him. BB gave him a grin as she skipped a little to catch up.

“Caster Gilles is a huge pain in everyone’s butts, who knows how many popularity points you’ve earned from that!” BB gave him a thumbs up and Salieri could have _sworn_ he heard faint applause coming from...somewhere, “I’d say it’s worth a little treat, no?”

“Not right now,” Salieri answered, walking a bit faster but BB still seemed to be able to keep pace with him.

“Bleh,” BB huffed, sticking her tongue out a little bit, “Well, your prize will be a-waiting for you whenever you want!”

“Noted.”  
  
BB continued to tail him down the hallway.

“Heard you’ve met Passionlip and Meltryllis.”

“Yes, and they told me to stay away from _you_ ,” Salieri said, hoping BB would take the hint. She didn’t.

Salieri walked past his room, the last thing he needed was BB knowing where his quarters were...saying she didn’t already know, that was.

“They’re always so salty,” BB said, twirling a loose strand of her lavender hair around her finger, she seemed totally unphased by the other girl’s less than favorable reviews.

“Hmm, Avenger,” BB interrupted the silence again with her annoying sing-song voice.

“What?”  
  
“Avenger, Avenger, tell me Avenger~” BB sang, “You’re so angry.”

“Yes. That’s something my class is known for, unfortunately.”

“Eh, I don’t know about that,” BB said with a dismissive shrug, “If I were you, I’d be feelin’ pretty good right about now~.”  
  
Salieri didn’t respond, so she moved forward a little bit, forcing herself to be in his field of view.

“Unless...there’s something else rattling around in that noggin’ of yours?”

“I’d argue that whatever is ‘rattling around in my noggin’ is none of _your_ business.”

BB snickered, “Has nothing to do with that dog-eared queen?”

“Dog-eared? Do you mean Queen Nitocris?”

“Correct!” BB grinned, “I did a lil’ bit of eavesdropping on Lip and Melt. You should probably tell those big mouths to keep it to themselves next time!”

“I’d argue you eavesdropping was ruder.”

“Eh, semantics,” BB skipped ahead then stopped directly in front of him, “Just wanted to tell you how much I loved that little show today! You might have a fan in me, you know!”  
  
For some reason, the way BB smiled and the general tone of her voice made Salieri feel like he was being mocked and, if all the things he’d heard about BB were true, it wasn’t that much of a stretch either.

He bristled reflexively, “Do you want me to throw you down the hall too?”

BB’s response wasn’t one he was expecting though; she just burst out laughing, “Pish, don’t take everything so seriously, Avenger. You’ll give that handsome face of yours wrinkles.”

BB reached out and cupped his cheek, a gesture which would have alarmed Salieri regardless...but suddenly, his Façade vanished. It was like he had been shocked, like a short in an electrical circuit.

“Wha-?”  
  
BB giggled, “You don’t have to hide from BB-chan, Avenger. I just want to help!”

There was something sinister in her words, something lurking just below the surface. It gave Salieri chills.

“Aaaaaanyway!” BB hopped back, fanning her arms out behind her, “Don’t wanna hold you up! Well, any longer that is!”

She gave him a thumbs up and a wink, “Say hi to the royal pains for me, would you? Kisses!”  
  
With a flamboyant wave, she took off skipping down the hall, leaving a befuddled Salieri standing there. He looked at his gloved hands, turning them over, making sure he hadn’t completely lost his mind. _How...how did she do that?_  
  
Salieri had certainly been mulling over Meltryllis and Passionlip’s warnings about BB. Either it was an act of stupidly dumb luck or BB was just that magically powerful and did a skillful job hiding it. Judging by how everyone seemed to avoid her, there was a very good chance it was the latter.

Either that or she was just so insufferable even his Façade didn’t want to deal with her.

The Avenger shook his head. BB was a mere annoyance at this point, a somewhat welcome distraction of an annoyance but an annoyance none the less. Small mercy that BB at least didn’t drive him into a homicidal rage.

With a sigh, Salieri ran his fingers through his hair and turned back the way he came to return to his room.

* * *

To his surprise, Master didn’t visit Salieri that afternoon, he was left in relative peace to mull over his intended compositions. Emphasis on ‘relative’, his stress quickly returned once the door to his room closed and he was left alone with his thoughts, and his interaction with BB had quickly become an afterthought. The once pristine desk was riddled with claw marks and ink stains and the heap of paper (which he had cleaned up a few days prior) was back in the corner.

Salieri wasn’t sure how long exactly he’d been at his desk, long enough that he’d discarded his jacket and rolled up his sleeves...to show the insides of his...forearms…

No, he wasn’t bleeding. It was just a bunch of ugly red lines he’d etched into his skin with his nails. A subconscious tic, an anxious one, an ugly one. He'd do it every time he discarded another draft, and another, and another...his skin stung. 

Focusing got progressively more and more difficult, his Façade banging against the glass panes of his sanity, clawing, howling...this went on for _hours_ at least.

The sound of someone knocking on the door startled him so badly he put a hole through the paper he was writing on with the point of his pen. It was enough to pull him out of his haze and quickly quiet his Façade for a moment.

“Avenger? Are you awake?” Ritsuka called through the door with another few light knocks. Leaving the mess on his desk, Salieri quickly rolled down his sleeves to hide the red splotches and lines and went over to answer it.

Ritsuka was looking at something completely unrelated when he opened the door.

“You’re late,” Salieri noted wryly.

Ritsuka gave him a puzzled look, “Late for what?”

“To scold me for this morning’s incident?” Salieri responded, this was the obvious answer, of course, “I was sure you’d be here sooner.”

“S-sooner?” Ritsuka was obviously even more confused. He checked the gold pocket watch he’d pulled out of his pants pocket, an item that Salieri found to be strangely out of place on his Master’s person for some reason.

“Breakfast was barely an hour ago…”

_Wait_.

No. That couldn’t be right...he’d been sitting at his desk...working...hours had gone by…

“Salieri? Are you...okay?” Ritsuka asked, “You...you’re awfully pale…”

There was more than stress making Salieri ill now. Had he lost time? No, that didn’t seem right...time _had_ passed, he was _certain_ of that...almost certain, but the light streaming through Chaldea’s windows confirmed it was, in fact, still morning...so...not nearly as much time had passed as he perceived…

“Oh, is this a bad time?” someone asked. Salieri looked to his right and the woman he had accidentally hit with a plate of scrambled eggs and half-chewed toast was there. She was dressed differently though, and her long braid was undone, showing how long her hair actually was.

“Jeanne, I’m...uh, I’m not sure?” confused as he was, Ritsuka was obviously concerned.

“I...ah...I’m sorry,” Salieri shifted uncomfortably, rubbing at his arm and trying his best not to dig his nails into his skin again, “I was...working.”

“You must have been quite focused for you to think time had passed to that extent,” Jeanne noted.

“Right. Um, you…” he rubbed the back of his neck, “ You are...I wasn’t...I didn’t mean to hit you.”

“I figured, and please don’t worry about it,” she smiled a positively radiant smile, “Despite how upset Marie and Gilles were, it really wasn’t a big deal. I told them to stop fretting about it, but if anyone tries to give you trouble, just let me know.”

“Are you...well, obviously you’re friends with Marie but...are you a fellow noble? I’m afraid I’m still relatively new and haven’t seen you around.”

“A noble?!” the woman gasped in what seemed to be genuine shock and Ritsuka laughed, “Heaven’s no! I’m certainly revered in France but I am no noble. My name is Jeanne D’Arc, the Holy Maiden of Orleans.”

“You might as well be a noble in some circles at this point,” Ritsuka chuckled.

“Yes, I’m sure, especially after everyone’s behavior this morning,” Jeanne sighed.

“You really should get out of your room more often, Avenger,” Ritsuka added, Salieri glared at him.

“I was going to say, I haven’t seen much of you either! Although Marie has spoken of you several times, she seemed overjoyed that a friend of Amadeus had arrived in Chaldea.”

Ritsuka visibly grimaced.

“We aren’t friends,” Salieri corrected her. Jeanne’s face fell slightly.

“O-oh. My apologies, that’s what Marie told me...she said Amadeus was so overjoyed you were here and she’d never seen him so happy.”

_Something which I, no doubt, have ruined,_ Salieri thought, recalling this morning’s exchange. Good. Maybe that meant the Caster would leave him alone, something that made him feel slightly better in a weirdly sadistic sort of way. 

“Anyway, I’m prepared to take whatever punishment you intent to dole out, Master.”

“Eh? Punishment? Oh, you mean for throwing Gilles.”

“Is that not why you’re here?”

“Not really. Jeanne asked me to show her where your room was so she could check in on you.”

“There aren’t any hard feelings about tossing Caster Gilles de Rais,” Jeanne smiled, “And you certainly aren’t the first person to do it...probably not the last one, either.”

“I’d only ask you not make a habit of it,” Ritsuka requested politely.

“Or else Jeanne Alter might get upset, not that she cares especially for Caster Gilles.”

“No, it’s that _she_ prefers to be the one throwing him around.”

Salieri was totally lost. Jeanne Alter? He wasn’t in trouble for attacking another Servant? Surely Master would have known by now that the plate Jeanne had been hit with was arguably intended for Amadeus...unless he didn’t mind food fights. Which, while not inherently aggressive, wasn’t terribly a mature thing to do either. He made a mental note to refrain from assaulting others with food from now on.

“Right…Regardless, I apologize for causing a scene.”

“It’s fine,” Ritsuka smiled, “And I Know you’re busy, but do you want to go hunting later?”

Salieri bit his lip and turned his head to glance at the mess out of the corner of his eye. He really needed to work but it was probably better if he took a break.

“Yes, I would...really like that, actually.”

“Okay! Great! I’ll set up everything and come get you later,” his Master beamed, “See you around Jeanne?”

“Always, Master. I’m free if you need anything,” the saint said. Ritsuka gave them a wave and vanished down the hall. Salieri went to turn back to his room but Jeanne stopped him.

“Avenger, wait,” Jeanne stopped him.

“What is it?”

Jeanne reached out and placed her hand on his bicep. Her touch was light, Salieri barely would have registered it had he not been looking at her. A very faint white light shone from her hand and Salieri was gradually engulfed in warmth, like settling into a warm bath.

“There,” Jeanne said with a satisfied smile, “That’s better.”

“What was...what was that? What did you do?”

“Call it intuition but I felt something...something off about your 'aura',” Jeanne explained, “If you want to call it that.”

“Something...off?”

Jeanne nodded, “Yes I’m….not quite sure how to describe it. The closest...the closest word I would use to describe it would be...it felt like someone cast a hex on you.”

“A hex? You mean...like a curse?”

“Yes,” she gave him a worried look, “You haven’t made any enemies here, have you? Surely not...you haven’t even been here that long…”

Salieri shook his head, “If anything, my intention was to avoid conflict and confrontation as much as possible. Well, barring my already established loathing of Amadeus.”

“Ah, yes...you ah...mentioned that.”

“But if you were to assume Amadeus was the one who placed that hex upon me, you would be mistaken.”

“I figured as much, and annoying as he is, Amadeus isn’t the sort to curse anyone.”

Salieri was mildly amused that even someone as saintly as the famous Jeanne D’Arc found Amadeus insufferable. Patience of a saint indeed.

Jeanne hummed to herself, “Do you perhaps have an idea?”

Barring this morning’s incident, the only other person Salieri had come into direct contact with was-.

The recollection of BB cupping his face so gently and somehow canceling out his Wailing Façade came to mind and it sent a chill rippling across his skin. Was it possible that BB had done this? That she had somehow cursed him and it had warped his sense of time?

No...he had no proof of that. As little as he trusted BB, the last thing he needed was to cause another incident, especially if it involved something he had no evidence to prove.

“Salieri?”

“No, there’s no one,” he lied. He was probably going to some circle of Hell for lying directly to the face of Jeanne D’Arc, but what else was new?

“Hmm, perhaps not that you know of,” she pondered out loud, “I would suggest exercising caution until that person decides to make themselves known.”

Salieri nodded.

“Be careful Avenger. Don’t forget, Master is always there to help if you need help.”

Salieri wanted to be rude and say something sarcastic about ‘not needing emotional support’ or some such nonsense, but much like Marie, Jeanne just seemed to radiate a sense of calm that settled even his Façade. He _did_ feel better, so there was that much.

“Thank you,” he said.

“I won’t hold you up anymore, adieu Monsieur Salieri! Try to have a good day!”

Good day. Ha. It’ll be a good day when he puts Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart six feet under.

“I will try.”

Jeanne gave him another radiant smile before she walked off down the hall, opposite the direction Ritsuka had gone. Salieri sighed again and once Jeanne was out of sight, returned to his room.

His desk was still a mess but he felt slightly better about said mess since it hadn’t been nearly as long as he’d initially perceived.

Maybe he should invest in some sort of time piece in his room…

Leaning over the desk, he picked up his pen and tapped it against the hard surface. After a minute, he crumpled up the sheet he’d been working on into a ball and tossed it on the pile.

This was something he’d worry about later. Right now, he had some frustrations to vent on whatever monsters his Master wanted slain today.

* * *

A good bloodbath had, indeed, been exactly what the doctor ordered to get Salieri’s mind of...well, everything at this point.

Master had partnered him with Passionlip, who was delighted to see him and Marie. The latter party, thankfully, was no longer upset with him about that morning’s incident, or if she was, she was doing an amazing job at hiding it.

Passionlip expressed more concern that Salieri might have been hurt by that strange Caster (she had overslept and missed everything, Meltryllis had given her a rundown later that day.) He'd assured her that Gilles (and probably the cafeteria furniture) had suffered more egregious injuries. 

“I shall continue to sing, okay? And I shall continue to dance! Now, let’s go! Guillotine Breaker!”

Marie’s splendid crystal horse galloped out onto the battlefield, leaving jagged crystal formations underhoof. It leapt into the air over the small group of crystallized golems and when it landed on the opposite side, huge crystal stalagmites erupted into the golems before exploding into splinters of sparkling glass. The golems shattered and collapsed into a heap of gems and rock.

“Uwaaah! So pretty!” Passionlip exclaimed, her violet eyes wide and shining as Marie and her Noble Phantasm came trotting over. Marie hopped down and the horse vanished in a pleasant puff of glitter.

Marie giggled at Passionlip’s childlike awe.

“Another great job guys!” Ritsuka said, giving them a thumbs up. He walked over and gave the expectant looking Alter Ego a gentle pat on the head. This appeared to be a common reward for some Servants, but Salieri still found it odd.

That aside, he was still uncomfortable around Marie, largely because he still thought she was secretly still upset with him. He did his best to avoid making eye contact and was fidgeting with his blade.

“Antonio?” Marie approached him once Passionlip and Master had wandered off.

“Yes?” he tried not to sound nervous but it was obvious his body language was giving it away.

“Do you...still think I’m mad at you?”

Salieri was glad he had his Façade on so that Marie couldn’t see him wince.

“Because I’m not,” she assured him, “It was a spur of the moment reaction and I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

Salieri didn’t say anything, but Marie’s hurt gaze was starting to making his chest hurt.

“Jeanne is someone I greatly admire...so that’s why I got upset,” she explained, “Surely you know what that’s like.”

As a matter of fact, he did, not that he would _ever_ admit to such a thing the way he was now.

Yes, he hated Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Yes he still wanted to kill him. However, there was still a part of him, faint but still there, that revered the man, his music, his unrivaled talent. Salieri would be a fool to deny any of it. That shred of him was a remnant of his life, or the life of Antonio Salieri rather. Even now, far away from Chaldea, he felt smothered in the presence and skill of his hated rival.

“Antonio? Antonio!” Marie called, cutting through his thoughts, “You’re shaking! Are you okay?”

The Avenger let out his breath in a rush, “Y-yes, forgive me.”

Marie’s big blue eyes were filled with concern, Salieri felt bad.

“Thank you Marie,” he said finally, “Jeanne came to see me earlier, so I think...I hope everything is fine now.”

Marie smiled and shook her head, “That’s so like Jeanne, but I am glad the two of you made up. We’re okay now, right?”

“Yes.”

“Wonderful!”

Before Salieri could say or do anything, Marie wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. The embrace (or shock of such affection in general, most likely) caused him to drop his Façade rather suddenly. It wasn’t like when BB did it, where it was unpleasant and jarring. He felt...warm, comfortable. He felt _good_ for once. Marie released him and took his hand.

“Come on, let’s not keep Master waiting!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, pre-Lostbelt 1: Hmm, yeah, Amadeus wouldn't hex anyone.  
> Me, post-Lostbelt 2: Hmm, I stand corrected.

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapters of this work aren't especially graphic or grim, but it does progressively start to go downhill later. I will reiterate again, please go over the tags to make sure you are comfortable with the material that will come up! I will not be angry if you don't want to continue reading.  
> Thank you again!


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